


Snapped

by nineteenforty



Series: Snapped [1]
Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-06-30 11:45:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 54,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15751023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nineteenforty/pseuds/nineteenforty
Summary: Set in modern day New York. Therese Belivet is a photographer known for shooting bands around town and working with local businesses. She is hired by a law firm, CTA Group, to shoot headshots. She meets a gorgeous, hot shot lawyer, Carol Aird. They fall for each other quickly and things get interesting.





	1. Welcome to CTA

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends. I am not the best writer but I read fics constantly so, I hope I can use what I've learned and create a great story for you! I am uploading the first two chapters now and will get the third up this week, hopefully!  
> Let me know what you think!  
> Thanks

Monday mornings were hard for everyone, right? Therese asked herself this very question, looking at her tangled hair and dark under-eye circles.

She sighed and began applying a little makeup to appear as professional as she could.

 

Today, she had a big paying job, shooting for a hot shot law firm. She had done this kind of thing before but has never been paid quite so much to do it. Therese was an up and coming photographer in New York City. She recently started renting a small photo studio in Brooklyn, to host her photography company, Snapped.

Therese was known for shooting local bands and filming commercials for local businesses. She was a firm believer in the ‘shop local’ motto and hoped others thought the same when searching for a photographer. She obviously had enough success to keep her business afloat, but more work never hurt.

The CTA Group reached out to her last month saying they needed new photos for their website. Headshots of their team, photos of the offices, and courtroom photos for promotional adds. CTA Group also wanted to talk about having Snapped shoot a commercial for them. Therese felt incredibly overwhelmed by the thought, but knew it would result in a very large check.

\----

The train ride from the studio to CTA was short. Therese brought her camera case with two lenses and a large light. She had an assistant that would come later to help her with the headshots.

She walked into the incredibly tall building and rode the elevator up to the 14th floor. When the doors opened, she saw the CTA logo on the wall in huge, maroon, letters. Underneath the large ‘C T A’ were the words ‘Cameron Thompson Aird’.

She noticed a very frazzled, young receptionist. As she walked up to the desk, she could tell the girl was in a heated conversation with a client about scheduling an appointment. The girl had thin, strawberry blonde hair that was quite damaged from what appeared to be the work of an over-used hair straightener. She looked up at Therese through thick rimmed, black glasses and held one finger up.

Rushing to get off the phone, she finally greeted Therese.

“Hello! Welcome to CTA Group. How can I help you? Do you have an appointment with someone?”

Therese was taken back by the chipper voice that slipped out of the girl.

“Yes. Um, I am Therese Belivet from Snapped. I am here to take pictures of the office and employee headshots.”

The receptionist’s eyes scanned her computer screen then shot back up to Therese.

“Oh, yes! Hello, Therese. I am Jennie.” They shook hands as Jennie stood from her maroon chair. “Follow me and I will take you to Mr. Cameron.”

 

The space was covered with windows. Offices were set along each side of the room. The three partners’ offices were along the back wall. Their desks faced the windows so they could see everything and everyone. There was a large conference room in the middle, surrounded by windows as well.

Therese was lead to the office positioned in the center of the back wall. As she glanced to her right, just before entering Mr. Cameron’s office, she saw one of the other partners in her office. She couldn’t make out the name on the door but she saw a woman with blonde hair, brighter than the sun. The woman was on the phone, leaned back in her chair. All Therese saw was the back of her head but she was intrigued.

“Mr. Cameron, this is Therese. She is the photographer.” With that, Jennie left the room. _Wow, this girl can really turn her customer service voice on and off, huh?_

Standing from his desk, extending his plump hand, Mr. Cameron said, “Well hello there Therese, are you ready to get rolling?"

_Geez, warm me up a little bit first._ Therese thought while feeling Mr. Cameron’s large pinkie ring crush her tiny hand.

“First off, I’d like to introduce you to the other partners. Our headshots are the ones that matter the most. We will be using them for business cards, online accounts, and other promotional things.” Walking to the office left of his, “Jerry, this is Therese. Therese. Jerry Thompson. He is the oldest member of our team.” Mr. Cameron laughed as Jerry gave him a fake punch to the stomach.

“Don’t listen to Robert, he doesn’t know vintage is a good thing.” Jerry extended his hand to Therese. “Nice to meet you, make me look real purdy now, ya hear?” he said with a deep southern accent. Blushing, Therese responded. “Oh come on, you’ve already got that covered. Looks like you’re gonna make my job easy today!”

“Alright Jerry, we’ll come get you when she’s ready for your close up. Now, let’s go meet Carol.” Robert said, ushering Therese out of the room and down the hall.

She saw a flash of blonde hair as they turned the corner.

_Carol Aird_ Therese read on the closed door.

Carol was looking down at her computer, typing away, when Robert knocked on the door and opened it, without waiting for permission.

Carol flipped her hair out of her face and smiled at Robert when they walked into the room

Therese stopped breathing.

Carol was dressed in what looked like a navy-blue suit, the jacket was hung on the coat rack in the corner. She had a white button-up shirt that appeared to be tucked in but Therese couldn’t tell from the angle. Carol’s lips were painted blood red and her eyes were a muted grey-blue color.

_Oh my god._ All the air was sucked out of the room and Therese felt dizzy.

Carol stood up to greet her guests.

_Oh my god she’s walking towards me._ _Her shirt is tucked in_. _Her tank top underneath her shirt is pulled down a little too far to be work appropriate._

_Am I staring? Wait, are they talking to me? Oh shit, she’s staring right at me and is – is she smirking? Did she see me staring at her chest?!_

_Fuck. It’s only 9 am and I am already sweaty and horny._


	2. Fainted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese finds it hard to focus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 here! This one is definitely longer than that intro chapter! Please let me know what you think. Things will start moving along in the next chapter (:

“Okay, chin up for me just a little…perfect”

*click*

“Great, thanks. Can you send the next person in, please?”

Therese was moving along much faster than she expected. The employee headshots were going by quickly, which pleased her as she was dripping in sweat and ready to get out of there.

 

\--1 hour earlier—

 

_Fuck. It’s only 9 am and I am already sweaty and horny._

“Therese. Not Theresa?” Carol said, smiling at the brunette.

“No ma’am.” Blushing as Carol smirked and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms.

“It’s lovely. Well, if you two don’t mind, I do have a few more calls to make before I get my picture taken” never taking her eyes off of Therese.

Carol’s voice was low and a little raspy. Probably from the cigarettes Therese spotted sticking out of her purse, on the corner of her desk.

They were still in the middle of an impromptu staring contest when Therese finally felt Robert’s hand on her shoulder, leading her out of the room.

 

As she looked back, walking past the wall of windows, she met Carol’s blue eyes for another quick moment.

 

\----

 

She leaned down to clean the lens of the camera that hung around her neck. She heard high heeled foot steps come into the room.

That smell. A mix of jasmine and vanilla.

“Where do you want me, Therese?” she heard that deep, sexy voice again.

_Oh so many places. How about on the chair? With your legs in the air. And my face bu--- Stop it Therese. FOCUS_

“Um, you can just…over here is fine.” Pointing to the green chair in front of the white backdrop.

Her assistant, and best friend, Dannie had come earlier to bring the backdrop and another light. He had just left the building to grab lunch for the two of them.

It was just her and Carol now, in a small, corner office that had the blinds drawn. Therese felt like she was on fire.

 

Carol sat in the chair, fixing her blonde curls with the tips of her finger tips. Therese was lost in the moment, just staring. When Carol finally met her eyeline, they shared a smile that lasted too long to just be friendly.

Blushing, for the hundredth time in an hour and a half, Therese finally said “Ready?”

After squatting down and lifting her camera, she began shooting. She found herself taking way more shots than necessary. Focusing in on Carol’s prominent collar bones and faint lines around her eyes.

Therese started to feel dizzy and the sweat was now flooding out of her. Her chest was tight and she felt like she would vomit.

Everything went blurry, including Carol. The next thing she saw was black.

 

_I can’t breathe._

_Why does my head hurt? Did I hit my head? Fuck. Ok, try to remember. What do you remember last? Carol. I remember watching Carol move like butter in front of the camera. Jeez, I hope I didn’t take too many pictures and make it obvious._

_Wait, am I already home and in bed? But I don’t remember leaving. What the fuck is happening?_

_Who is shaking me?_

“Therese, darling, can you hear me? God, she’s so pale. Therese!”

Therese finally opened her eyes and was gifted with Carol’s face two inches away from her own.

“Oh thank God! Here, let me get you some water.” She said moving to stand up.

“No, no. I’m fine. Just…just stay right here”

Carol brushed the brunette hair off her face and held her hand.

They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Therese raised herself to a seated position. Quickly remembering that her head hurt, she searched for her bag that contained Tylenol. “What do you need? I can get it. Don’t move too quickly.” “Tylenol. In the black bag over by the door. Water is on the table.”

Carol rushed to grab the items then back to Therese’s side.

“So…what the hell just happened?” Carol asked after ensuring Therese swallowed the medicine. 

Breathing heavily, “Uh…I don’t…I don’t know.” Not looking at Carol’s face.

The older woman took a manicured finger and lifted Therese’s chin. Glaring at the brunette, she asked her question once more.

“I just got a little hot I guess. I didn’t eat breakfast and this room got a little…hot. That’s all”

Giving her a hearty laugh, Carol finally stood and helped Therese to her feet.

 

In that moment, Dannie burst through the door with a bag of food.

“Hey T, I ate at the restaurant so we could switch off while you ate.” He finally looked up and saw the color slowly coming back to Therese’s face.

“Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?!” “She’s fine now. She just got a little…hot and fainted.” Giving Therese a side smirk. “Why don’t you come eat in my office to take a little break?” “Yeah, T, I’ve got the rest of the shots covered!” Dannie assured her.

Carol placed a hand on the small of Therese’s back, grabbed the bag of food from Dannie, and escorted her to the office.

“Feel free to have a seat. Do you want a drink from the vending machine?” “A coke would be great!”

“Of course, darling.” Therese’s eyes went wide after Carol left the room. _Did she say that on purpose or is she just one of those fancy ladies that casually drops pet names like that?_

_I’m absolutely screwed. I’m about to eat lunch while she stares at me from across the desk. How does this woman make me so dizzy when I’ve only known her for two hours?_

 

Before she could answer her own question, Carol came back in, closing the door behind her.

“Let’s sit on the couch”

Therese followed and sat on the charcoal grey couch that had a few red pillows, matching Carol’s lips.

_God, those lips. Look at them. They’re so full and they look so soft. I wonder—_

Carol cut her thoughts off, “So, tell me about yourself, Therese Belivet.”

“Me? Oh, there’s not much to tell. I’m from here…uh, New York…City. I started working with the camera when I was about 16, they had one in the home I stayed in and let us rent it out. I was the only one that seemed interested so, I started shooting anything and everything that I could. I started with nature shots then, moved to buildings and old churches. Then, I started shooting people. Just people walking by, maybe I should’ve gotten their permission. I’m not sure. After I moved out on my own, I started shooting bands at night clubs, mostly for fun.” She paused to take a sip of her drink.

“That turned into bands actually paying me to shoot their gigs and promo shots. After that, things kind of took off. Which lead me to working with a lot of businesses and I’m getting into shooting commercials and music videos now.”  Realizing how long she had been talking, Therese’s eyes went wide. “Wow, I’m sorry. That was a lot. The short answer is—I’m a photographer. I shoot for musicians and businesses. And, I own a studio out in Brooklyn.” She said smiling, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Well, that is all quite impressive, Ms. Belivet. You seem far too young to have accomplished so much. How old _are_ you?”

“Twenty-three. Will be twenty-four next month.”

“My, you’re merely a child” Carol said with a small smile.

“I am not!” laughing, Therese replied, “and, trust me, I’ve been through enough ‘adult’ trauma for two lifetimes.” Carol seemed to shut down at the joke. She turned her eyes to her desk, not quite focusing on anything. Therese followed her eyes and saw a couple picture frames on the outer edge of the desk. Standing, she walked towards the frames and looked at Carol for permission. Carol shook her head slowly, looking down again.

“Do you have a daughter? Is this her?” seeing Carol’s eyes meet her own and the blonde’s face light up. “She is beautiful, Carol! She looks just like you.” _Oh, shit. Did I just call her beautiful?_ “How old is she?”

“Sixteen. Her name is Rindy, short for Nerinda.” Standing to meet Therese, across the room, she smiled down at the photo in Therese’s hands “My baby. I miss her terribly when she’s not with me. She splits her time between me and her father.” Therese’s eyes shot up a little too quickly. “We’re not together. We divorced over a few years ago and he’s remarried. Rindy hates the new wife” Carol said chuckling.

“And have _you_ remarried?” Therese asked, secretly hoping she had a chance.

Carol smiled at her a little seductively, “No. I am single, Therese.” “Oh. Okay. That’s good. Good. Good. Okay…well I better…get back to Dannie. He might need some help.”

 _Way to go, genius._  

She handed the photo of Rindy back to Carol, their fingers brushing slightly. Neither woman moved for a full minute. Finally, Therese broke away and left the room.


	3. Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese finds out what the next month of her life will entail.

By the time Therese finished for the day, Carol was already gone from her office. The lights were off and the door was closed.

She stopped off at Robert’s office to say goodbye and let him know he would have the photos within the next few days.

“Thanks so much, Therese. We really enjoyed having you around today. Great work!” Smiling as he shook her hand. “Will we be seeing you next week for the court room shots?"

“Oh, yes. I had a few questions about that, actually. Are you sure it is okay for me to shoot during an active trial?"

“Yes. The case is between a large corporation and their former Vice President. Our firm is representing the business and their case against the ex VP, who has been embezzling money for years.” Taking a deep breath, “It’s been in the works for a long time and we are finally going to trial. Carol is the lawyer on the case but we will _all_ be assisting throughout this process.”

“Oh wow. Okay...so what…exactly do you want me to shoot? Will I be in the court during the entire trial or just in and out?”

“Yes, I meant to talk to you about this before. I do apologize. If you need to send in an assistant that’s fine too, but we will have to get each photographer’s name to give to the court. But yes...we will need shots of the entire trial. Hopefully it won’t go on too long. We have plenty of evidence.”

Thinking about her next month of work, quickly deciding anything can be pushed if it meant she would be spending every waking moment with Carol

“Done.”

Realizing he didn’t really ask her a question, “um...I mean, yes, I can make that work.”

“Great! So glad to hear it. We’ll sit down with Carol in the next few days and go over what we think is necessary to capture and what can be under your judgment. Some of these photos will be shared with the media so, be sure to watermark everything” be said wink.

“You’ve got it sir!”

“Alright, kid, get out of here. It’s after 5pm and my wife doesn’t like it when I’m late for dinner.”

\----

Therese rode the subway, back to Brooklyn, almost in a trance. She was so incredibly overwhelmed by her feelings earlier in the day and now she was expected to spend up to a month photographing Carol? Well…not only Carol.

 _Man, I hope I don’t come back with just a bunch of close-up shots of her. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing._ She began to feel dizzy again but shook herself out of it.

Once she was finally home and in bed, later that night, her thoughts drifted back to the beautiful blonde that caused her to _literally_ faint. Nobody had ever made her feel like that before. Sure, she had had crushes in the past, even a few girlfriends. But no one made her feel so out of control that she physically fell to the floor.

She tried closing her eyes and getting some, much needed, sleep. But, all she could see were grey-blue eyes staring back at her. She drifted down to the full lips that were stained red, the perfect teeth that smiled at her as soon as she came-to, on the floor. The perfect breasts that were threatening to make an appearance out from under Carol’s button up shirt.

Therese’s hands seemed to have a mind of their own, as they traveled down her body and into her plaid sleep shorts. When she felt the wetness that had pooled there, she slammed her eyes shut and threw her head back.

Images of blonde hair and red manicured nails took her right into a blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so short, I'm sorry!! I just couldn't leave you guys hanging.  
> Let's get ready for LOTS of close-up Carol shots (;


	4. Marche

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese meets Robert and Carol for dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovelies! I wanted to make this chapter longer for you but got stuck so I'm giving you what I have!  
> Let me know what you think

Therese arrived at Snapped close to 9:30 the next morning. She was greeted by Dannie with a cup of hot coffee. He immediately began grilling her about her tragic fainting the day before.

“Okay, so what the hell was that faint yesterday with the hot lawyer?!”

“What do you mean? I just got over heated and I hadn’t eaten anything all morning.” Therese said, trying to end the conversation.

“Yeah right! I saw the way you two were staring at each other. She’s a total babe. You should go for it!”

“Dannie, she is way out of my league! Plus, I don’t want to mess up this job.”

“T, have you seen yourself?! When are you going to start believing that you’re hot? Did she seem interested when you went to her office to “ _eat_ ”?” He said, using air quotes

“STOP! No, nothing happened. She asked me about myself and my backstory. She has a daughter and she’s divorced. From a man. So, there you go. All the info I needed to know she’s straight and out of reach.”

Therese ran off to setup for a shoot in the large studio at the other end of the office building. She shut and locked the door behind her and began blaring her go-to ‘sad’ playlist. 

Carol was so out of her league that it physically hurt. _But she did seem interested, didn’t she?_

_No, I just wanted to see that._

_But we did touch hands and when she told me she was single, there was a hint of promise in her voice._

At that point, Therese heard banging on the door and Dannie yelling that the band she was shooting had arrived.

She tried to clear her mind and be as professional as possible. The band was shooting for their next single artwork and it was a love song. They chose a playlist of sappy love songs to play, over the speaker, for the duration of the shoot.

Therese’s thoughts drifted to the possibility of having a love like that…with Carol.

\----

Later that day, Therese received a call from Mr. Cameron at the CTA group.

“Therese! So good to talk to you again. Listen, are you free for dinner tomorrow night? I was thinking we could meet with Carol to discuss the court room shots.”

“Um…sure, let me double check my schedule. One moment.” Therese knew she had absolutely nothing going on but wanted to sound like she was important. “Yes, I am free after 6 o’clock. When and where were you thinking?”

“Not sure where yet. I’ll chat with Carol, she has much better taste than I do.” He said, laughing in his deep voice. “I’ll have Carol send you the details. Looking forward to it!”

“Me too, thanks Robert. See you then.”

Therese hung up and never stopped starting at her screen, anticipating Carol’s message.

The text finally came around 10pm.

**Dinner tomorrow—Marche. 7pm. -C**

Therese began typing out a reply when Carol sent a second text.

**Try not to faint this time (; -C**

Trying to breathe, Therese read the message four times before sending her response.

**No promises -T**

\----

Therese arrived to the restaurant early to hopefully calm her breathing before Carol arrived. She saw Robert waving her over from the bar.

“Hey, long time no see. How are you?”

“I’m great. How are you doing?”

“Oh fine. The wife gave me shit about missing dinner again tonight but I assured her it was work related” He said, smelling of scotch. “I figured we’d wait here for Carol. She texted that she was running behind.” Therese knew that was a power play that Carol probably used to make others uncomfortable.

It worked.

Fifteen minutes later Carol came breezing in, immediately spotting them at the bar. She walked over and sat right next to Therese.

All Therese could smell was her perfume. It was intoxicating.

They were lead to their table and this gave Therese a full minute to stare at Carol’s backside.

She was wearing a white and black polka-dot button up. _Does she own any other type of shirt?_ Tucked in to a skin-tight pencil skirt that came to her knees. Therese could see the outline of her ass and the way it moved every time Carol swayed her hips to walk. _She’s doing this on purpose._

They were seated at a four-top table with Carol facing Therese, Robert to their side.

Carol began staring at Therese the second they sat down. Making her sweat. Therese finally registered the cleavage the blonde was revealing. _Wow! How does someone look THAT good?! Fuck, I’m staring at her chest again. Great she’s going to think I’m such a pervert._

Carol ordered her entire meal without breaking eye contact with the younger woman.

Therese was in a full body sweat and was very wet in another area.

“So, Therese” _Ugh, the way she says my name. It would sound so good coming from her lips paired with a moan. Or better yet…a scream. FOCUS THERESE!_

“I assume Robert gave you the low down on the case.” Not waiting for her to answer, “It’s very important. I’ve been working with this company for over a year now and they are ready for this to be over. They have poured so much money and time into building the case and I’m confident we can win.”

They held eye contact for a beat then Carol continued. “Your job is to tag along with me and capture the development of the trial. The company, Holloway Productions, wants to share pictures with the media, mainly. They were highly publicized for firing the VP so all the news outlets are going to want to follow the trial closely.” Taking a breath. “You with me so far?”

Therese hadn’t taken her eyes off Carol since they sat down. “Y-Yes. I’m good.”

“We will start next week. You can send your assistant to shoot if you’re ever unavailable, but I’d like you to be with me for the first few days to get the hang of it. If you could email me your credentials and the assistant’s, Dannie I think his name was, I can get them over to the right people. You will have to have press passes to get into the court each day.”

Therese made a mental note to send Carol the needed info. She was moving at lightning speed and Therese could barely keep up. Especially since all she could think about was Carol being so close to her face and touching her just a few days ago.

Robert finally sobered up enough to chime in “Carol, Therese was asking what _kind_ of shots she needed to take.”

Therese spoke up before Carol could start again “Yes. I mean…I have never taken pictures in a court room before. I’m not sure what’s expected, what’s appropriate, or really what the company is l-looking for.” The corners of Carol’s mouth turned up slightly. _Is she laughing at me? She thinks this is funny. I’m over here flustered because all I can see and smell is her and she thinks it’s funny._

“Really they just want a handful of good pictures that showcase the important moments in the trial. If there is evidence shown in court, get a picture of it. Take a picture of every person that gets on the stand. Take a few pictures of the lawyers addressing the jury. You will have to blur our any jurors faces though, please don’t forget to do that before sending the photos in. Other than that, just anything you think is worth documenting. You won’t be sending the photos directly to the media outlets. You will send them to me then I’ll send them over to Holloway.”

They all finally took a moment to breathe and everyone let Therese digest the information.

“Do you have any questions?”

Therese had so many questions for Carol, but none about the job at hand. “Nope. I think you covered everything. I see why you are in the line of work you are in. You’re great with the facts.” She said laughing.

Robert excused himself to use the restroom. 

“Promise you’ll get my good side, Therese?” Carol asked with a slight glimmer in her eyes.

“You don’t have a bad side.” _Oh, shit. Did I just reveal that I stared at her ass? Well, she probably knows that already with all the hip swaying._

Just then, Robert came back to the table. They had all finished their meals and Robert said he already paid.

They walked out together and Robert hugged the two women before climbing in a taxi.

“So, are you good to come into the office Monday morning? Maybe 8:30am?”

“Yes. I’ll be there.”

“Great. I’ll be sure to have extra waters and lay pillows all around the floors.”

“Jeez, Carol you’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“We’ll see.”

The valet drove up in a blacked-out Audi SUV which Carol began walking toward. She slipped a $20 in the young man’s hand and whipped her head around to say her parting line which Therese would hold on to until she saw her next.

“See you soon, darling”


	5. No promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese and Carol start working together...very closely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for the record, I have NO idea how lawyers operate or how cases are handled in court! I'm very aware a photographer wouldn't be tagging along with a lawyer but...that's the story we're going with! LOL
> 
> This chapter moves very fast! These two are moving at lightning speed. NSFW!

Monday morning came much faster than Therese expected, which she appreciated. She woke up around 6am to get some caffeine in her system and, hopefully, look a little more “awake” when she sees Carol.

She began applying some makeup to her eyes and cheeks. She chose to wear black, cigarette pants with a light grey short-sleeve shirt and black loafers. Pulling her hair into a low ponytail, she applied a little lip gloss and headed out the door.

\----

Arriving at CTA the second time was much less intimidating than the first. She made a beeline for Carol’s office and was happy to find the door open. Carol was not at her desk but Therese went ahead and sat down on the plush couch.

Carol was coming down the hallway from grabbing some coffee, when she saw the brunette in her office. Smiling to herself, she entered and greeted the younger woman. “Therese, darling, so good to see you!” She said gesturing for Therese to hug her.

Therese immediately stood up, wrapping her arms around the taller woman, trying not to make it obvious that she was smelling her.

“Carol. It’s nice to see you too.”

“Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?”

“N-No thank you. I’ve probably had too much coffee already for 8am” trying to laugh and ignore her stutter. _Come on, T._ _You’ve only been here for five minutes and you’re already flustered._

Sitting back down at her desk, Carol typed out a few words on her keyboard then came to sit very close to Therese.

She was overwhelmed by Carol’s scent, yet again. Today Carol was wearing light pink dress pants that were cuffed at the bottom, with a black shirt and the blazer that matched the pants. She looked relaxed but still professional.

They would be in the office today, meeting with the client.

“Okay, so Jeffrey Holloway will be in at around 1pm. I figured I’d give you some more background on the events that led up to the case. Then we can break for lunch and meet with Jeffrey after. Sound good?”

Therese hoped Carol would suggest they have lunch together but she couldn’t let herself daydream right now.

“Yep. Sounds good.”

The pair spent the next few hours going through the timeline of events. Carol gave very detailed information so Therese knew the severity of the case. Every so often, the blonde would reach over the table in front of them, or cross her legs, each time touching Therese.

This sent the younger woman into yet another full body sweat. Her mind was racing, thinking of how those hands and legs would feel touching her own body. She kept getting flashes of Carol wrapped around her, skin on skin, heads between legs.

_Seriously! Snap out of it!! You are in a meeting; might I remind you. She is way out of your league, it’s never going to happen. Stop._

“Therese?” she came-to when she heard her name.

“Are you alright? You’re not going to faint on me again, are you? You’ve got that same look on your face.”

“Uh…I do? What do I look like?”

“Like you’ve seen a ghost.” Bringing a hand to Therese’s forehead, “Oh, darling, you’re sweating. Let me turn the air down.”

Before Carol could pull her hand away, Therese grabbed it. Dropping there joined hands in her lap, she confessed. “Carol, I have to be honest with you. I can’t focus on anything you are saying.” Trying to gather up the courage to continue… “I…um…I find you incredibly…a-attractive.”

She sat as still as a rock, waiting for Carol’s response.

The older woman smiled and stood up, pulling her hand away. Walking across the room, she shut the door quietly.

She came back to sit on the couch, letting her knees touch Therese’s. Making it obvious and intentional this time.  She grabbed her hands within her own and said,

“Therese, I know.” The brunette’s eyes went wide. _Of course, she knows. I wasn’t hiding it well AT ALL! Is she about to fire me? Did she close the door so nobody would hear my embarrassment?_

“I actually…feel the same way. But, I didn’t think you would be attracted to an old woman like me. I mean look at you!”  _Whew, thank god!!!_  

Therese blushed and exclaimed, “Are you kidding?! Have you seen yourself? I don’t want to be too forward here but, Carol, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Ever.”

“Thank you darling. You are too sweet. This may be totally out of line and unprofessional, but I think we already crossed that line…let me take you to dinner tonight. Are you free?” 

Therese would have canceled anything to go to dinner with this woman. “Yes. I’m free” smiling widely

Looking at the clock, Carol said “Well, it’s actually about time for lunch. Let me take you to lunch first” winking at Therese.

\----

They walked down the block to a small deli, sitting in the back-corner booth.

“So, you know my story. Tell me yours.” Therese said with a questioning look.

“Oh, there’s not much to tell. I went to NYU for my undergrad then, Harvard for law school. I married right out of college. Terrible mistake. Well, not so terrible. I did get my daughter out of it.”

“What made it terrible for you?” Therese was so curious if Carol was someone she could pursue romantically or if this was just an experiment for her. She has been with married women in the past. All straight and each one broke her heart.

“Well for starters, I’m gay.” _Aha, there’s my answer!_ “I fooled around with a few friends in school but I thought the thing to do was to marry a man and have the happy family I dreamed of. But, that happy family only lasted a few years. Harge began cheating on me very early on. Then, well…I did the same. Our marriage turned into more of a friendship. We were both sleeping with other women. We were basically roommates that would send out Christmas cards together.” Carol laughed at her statement but Therese could see the hurt in her eyes.

She reached across the table and grabbed Carol’s hand. “I’m so sorry. Whether you were happy together or not, it’s still hard to move on from a relationship like that.”

The older woman shook her head, agreeing. She didn’t make eye contact with Therese for a few minutes.

“Tell me about Rindy!” Carol’s eyes lit up again, like that first day in her office. Pulling her hand away to happily clutch her chest.

“Rindy. Well she’s growing up too fast and recently got her license. Harge bought her a car that was way too expensive, of course. She’s a very talented tennis player, has been for years now. I got her into tennis lessons as a kid and she’s loved it ever since.” Smiling to herself, Carol remembered the tiny girl in a tennis skirt, fumbling for the ball every time she missed it.

“She’s actually interested in photography as well. I’ll have to get you two together so you can give her some pointers. Tell her not to shoot someone she’s attracted to though…she might faint” She said winking.

“Oh, come on, give it up already! ‘Ha-ha Therese fainted because she was shooting a goddess.’ That was NOT my fault. You shouldn’t look like that when someone takes your picture!”

“And what might that be?” Carol asked, seductively.

“Like you wanted to eat me alive. You knew what you were doing. God, you were burning a hole through the lens.”

“I was not! I was making sure you weren’t going to topple over. Which you did.”

They both broke out into laughter.

\-----

After finishing their meals, they returned to Carol’s office for the meeting.

The day was ending and the pair was back on that same couch.

“So, what time can I pick you up?” Carol said, catching Therese off guard.

“Oh, I thought lunch was our date.” Trying to think quickly, “Oh, that was just…uh…okay. I actually do have plans that I forgot about, anyway. I will-“ Therese cut her off, smiling at how flustered she was getting.

_Hmm it’s nice to be on the other side for a change._

“Carol.” Catching the blonde’s attention. “You don’t have plans that you forgot about and you can pick me up at 7pm. I’ll text you my address.”

They shared eye contact for a few seconds before Therese breezed out the door.

\----

There was a knock on her door at 7pm sharp.

Taking one more look at her outfit in the mirror. Tonight, she went with a dark, plum dress that had a deep V in the front. She paired it with nude heels and kept her hair in the low ponytail from before.

She opened the door of her small apartment and was knocked back by the vision in front of her.

Carol was wearing a simple black dress that came to her knees. It was skin tight and showed a hint of cleavage. She could see all of Carol’s curves. Her small waist, her flat stomach, and those hips that swayed seductively every time she walked.

“Wow.” Was all Therese could say.

“Wow, yourself. You look beautiful.”

“S-so do you.” _Alright, pull it together. You’re going to be looking at her all night._

“Are you ready to go?” “Yeah, let me just grab my purse.” Therese rushed back to her room, grabbing the small clutch.

\----

The restaurant was nicer than anywhere Therese had been before. The lighting was dim and each table had small candles. They were lead to a table by the window, looking out over the city.

“Carol, this is too nice. You did not have to do this”

“Nonsense, I wanted to. Do you like wine?”

“Yes. White.” 

Carol ordered what sounded like a very expensive bottle of wine, as well as meals Therese couldn’t pronounce.

“You’ll love it. Trust me.” Carol said matter-of-factly.

“I do.” Smiling back at the older woman.

After they got their meals, Carol asked, “Have you ever been with a woman, Therese?”

Choking on her food, Therese answered, “Yes Carol, I have. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. You’re so young, I wasn’t sure.”

“I have. Probably too many for my liking, but things happen. Is my age a problem for you?”

“No, not at all.” “How old are _you_?”

“37. Is that a problem for you?"

Faking shock, “Oh, wow. Yeah. I think I need to leave” Laughing, “No, Carol. Your age is not a problem.” “I kind of like it. I pulled an older woman, look at me.” Wiggling her eyebrows.

“Oh, stop it.”

They laughed together again. It seemed they were able to bring out another side with each other. A fun side that they hid away from others. It made Therese feel…free.

\----

Carol drove Therese back to her apartment, holding hands the entire trip.

They walked up, slowly, to Therese’s front door.

“Thank you for dinner, Carol.”

“You’re welcome. I had a good time.”

They began coming closer, like magnets. Their eyes locked and Therese stood on her toes, craning her neck towards Carol. Their lips finally met. It started off slow and innocent. Then, quickly became heated. Therese’s hands woven in Carol’s hair. The blonde’s hands wrapped around the shorter woman’s waist, pulling her closer. Their bodies were flush against each other, tongues intertwining now.

Therese was the first to pull away, breathing heavily.

“Would…would you like to come inside?” Looking up at Carol through her eyelashes.

“Yes, I would.” Therese grabbed the older woman’s hand and led her through the door. She let Carol continue down the small hallway while she closed the door.

Not turning around just yet, “Would you like a drink or something?”

Feeling Carol’s hands grab her by the waist, “No.”

Carol pulled the brunette towards her then eased her over to the wall. She began kissing down the deep V of her dress. Therese was breathless above her, throwing her head back against the wall.

Carol made her way back up to Therese’s lips and slipped her tongue back inside. She then slipped her thigh between Therese’s legs. The younger woman immediately began grinding against her, like a reflex. She grabbed her ass and pushed her harder into the wall.

Once she was sure Therese was getting close to the edge, she pulled away and straightened her body.

Eyes wide, “What? What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving, darling.” Carol said, smirking. “See you tomorrow” She kissed her once more then turned and left.

Therese’s head was spinning. She didn’t even have time to register what just happened.

After about ten minutes, she finally moved from the wall and went to take off her dress. She decided to forgo pajamas tonight as she was way too hot already.

 

Her phone rang, seeing it was Carol, she shimmied down under the covers and answered. “Hello, tease.”

Chuckling, “I’m sorry dearest. But, if I'm going to devour you, I need to be able to take my time. And we have to be up early tomorrow.”

Therese shivered at the word. _Devour. Whoa. Is that what she wants to do to me? Jesus. This woman will be the death of me._

“Is that so?”

“Mmm yes. You have no idea how much I wanted to right there in your hallway.”

“Carol, you’re killing me. You can’t talk to me like this when I’m drunk on wine.”

“And why is that, baby? Am I making you…wet?”

Therese didn’t mean to, but she let out a moan that sent Carol’s head spinning.

“Carol. I…yes.” She was squirming now.

“Tell me how wet you are, baby.”

Therese was too far gone to stop now. She let her hand travel under the sheets and between her legs. She let out an audible gasp when she felt it. She had never been this wet in her entire life.

“That bad, huh?” Carol said in a low, raspy voice.

“Yes.” Her voice was barely audible. She didn’t know if Carol would keep going or leave her hanging like before, so she kept her hand very still. Hovering over her sex.

“Mmm, I wish I would’ve stayed then. I should’ve taken you right there, up against the wall. I should have turned you around, kissed and licked down the back of your neck. Unzipped your dress and let it fall to the floor.”

Therese went for it. She began moving her fingers up and down her cunt, slowly. Trying not to moan in Carol’s ear.

“I should have reached around and held you in my hands, pulling your nipples until they were hard for me. I should have reached my hand down into your black lace panties, which I saw when you got out of the car. Therese—”

She was caught off guard when she heard her name, “Yes?” she froze.

“Are you touching yourself?” there was silence on the other end of the line. “Oh, baby, keep going.”

Carol slipped her own hand into her panties.

“Therese, can you feel me? I’m circling my finger around your clit. You’re shaking against the wall. I move my finger down to your entrance. God, you are so wet. You were right. I slowly enter you with one finger and I feel you suck in a breath. Baby, move with me.”

Therese began mimicking the movements Carol was describing.

“That’s right, in and out. I slip another finger in. Now, you’re begging me to lick you. I’ve wanted to taste you since the moment I saw you. I flip you around and sink to my knees, taking those sinful panties down with me. I lean in, you smell so good. I take my tongue and swipe from your wetness up to your clit. I circle it and suck it into my mouth.”

Therese was so close, she did not know how much longer she would last.

“I slip two fingers back inside you and fuck you while I continue to use my tongue. Mmm” Carol was moaning along with Therese.

“Baby, tell me you’re close.”

“I- I am. Ahh fuck, keep going”

“I pull your leg over my shoulder and you grab the back of my head to pull me in closer. I’m sucking and plunging my fingers deep inside of you. I’m curling my fingers and you are shaking. You pull my head even closer and now you’re coming in my mouth. Oh, baby, you taste so good.”

“Carol!!”

Hearing Therese scream her name made her tumble over the edge as well.

They were heavily breathing on either end of the phone.

“Don’t hang up”

“I won’t darling”

Therese loved when Carol called her darling. She also loved hearing Carol call her baby and hearing her moan and hearing her describe fucking her against the wall.

_Oh boy, we are in deep now._

A few minutes later, Therese finally spoke. “Carol. That was…oh my god.”

“I’m sorry baby, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Never apologize for that. Wow.”

“We should get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow. We’ll have to keep your hands to ourselves.” Therese smiled widely, “No promises.”


	6. 5 Cent Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our ladies are getting closer! Emotionally!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up way differently than I expected, but I'm enjoying writing it and excited to see where my mind takes me. Hope you enjoy!! Tell me what you think!

Therese woke to the sound of cars honking outside. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up slowly.

_Why am I naked?_

_Oh god._

_I had phone sex with Carol last night! That wasn’t a dream??? Shit shit shit. How am I going to look her in the eyes today?_

_I mean…she initiated it, right? Ugh. I can’t even remember._

_Here we fucking go._

She stood in the shower, letting the hot water run down her body. She put on a little makeup, not too much as she was already running late. Then, headed for the subway.

\----

“No, Harge. We can’t switch weekends.” Carol was on the phone but waved Therese into her office anyway.

“Because. I planned a trip with Rindy and the tickets are already booked.”

Therese tried to listed to the other side of the conversation but couldn’t hear the tiny ear piece from across the room.

“I don’t care if your mother _misses_ her. I miss her too. We are going to LA. ---- NO Harge. I can’t reschedule this trip! She’s so excited! ---- Well, that was pleasant. ---- No, I’m not budging this time. Everything is paid for. ---- Fine. ---- Ok. Thank you. Tell Jennifer I-“ the line was cut off.

Breathing angrily, Carol dropped the phone back on to her desk.

“AGH. I’m sorry you had to hear that, darling. Harge is trying to take Rindy, on my weekend, so they can have a dinner party at his mothers’ house.”

Before Therese could speak, Carol started again. “I mean, you can reschedule a dinner party. You can’t reschedule flights and hotels as easily.”

“I’m sorry. When are you going?” Therese asked, trying to lighten the mood. It worked.

“This weekend! Rindy is ecstatic! She’s never been to LA before. I’m taking her to Universal Studios one day, then we are going to hike up by the Hollywood sign. We’re going to go to all my favorite restaurants out there. It’s going to be so much fun. We haven’t had a mother-daughter trip in…well, ever. We always had someone else with us.”

Smiling, dimples and all, “That sounds amazing, Carol. I’m sure she’d much rather do that then eat dinner with a bunch of people she probably doesn’t even know. At least that’s how I understand those dinner parties to go.”

“Yes. You’re quite right. She’s always hated them. I did too. Thankfully, Susan has to grin and bare them now.” Carol flashed a Cheshire cat like smile. “Anyway, enough about that. How are you this morning?” She came and sat next to Therese.

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“Yeah? How’d you sleep?”

“Really well, actually” dimples popping out again.

“Hmm, me too.” Carol threw her a wink and went back to her computer. “Today, I don’t need you for long, I have an appointment at 11. I just want you to grab a few photos of these documents for evidence.” She pointed to a brown folder on her desk. “You can do them in here. The conference room is occupied today. Just be sure to crop the edges so you only see the doc.”

“You got it, boss!” she held a thumbs up and got to work.

She stayed comfortable on the couch and shot the papers from above. Around 10am, the sun changed through the window and she was struggling to find good lighting.

Carol was watching her struggle. Her tongue would stick out for a few seconds, or she would begin biting her lip. It was terribly cute…for Carol. For Therese, it was incredibly frustrating. She didn’t want to cause too much of a disturbance for the blonde working on the other side of the room, but none of these photos would be legible.

“Darling, you can come closer to the window if you need. Here, use this end of my desk.” Carol turned to her right, moving files off of her L shaped desk. Therese brought the renaming few files over and was pleased to find great lighting.

Carol couldn’t help herself from staring at the way the brunette’s backside moved as she hovered over the pages. Today, she was wearing tight, dark jeans and a simple black shirt. With the height of Carol’s chair, and the shortness of Therese, her eyes had a direct line to the younger woman’s ass.

After she was sure Therese was done shooting, and was just shooting more for safety, she let her right hand slid up the back of her thigh. Still paying attention to whatever was on her screen, she swept her hand around to grab the back of Therese’s thigh quickly, causing her to gasp.

She removed her hand away to type on her keyboard, with a smirk on her face.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?”

Never looking away from her screen, “Mmm, I do…baby” she said _baby_ in the same tone as last night, on the phone. Therese could tell it was a term she only used when she was aroused.

_Fuck. I can’t let her touch me again. I will throw her down on this desk right here._

“Carol, no. You’re not doing this.”

“Oh, come on. I’m just having a little fun.” Bringing her had toward Therese again.

“No!” swatting her hand away and backing up towards the window. “No, you know what you do to me, unfortunately. And I can’t control myself if you actually touch me.”

“I _heard_ what I do to you. But I didn’t get to _see_ it for myself.” Smiling widely at Therese.

“No, Carol” trying to hid her smile.

“What are you doing today? Are you free?”

“Uh…yeah. I planned on being here. Actually, my schedule is free for the next month…per your request.” Giving Carol a knowing look.

“Ah, I knew that would come in handy, having you clear your schedule. Come with me to my appointment then why don’t you come over and I’ll make you dinner?”

“Carol, you don’t have to do that. You already bought me dinner last night. It’s too much.”

“But I’d like to. I like treating you.”

“I’ll tell you what. How about I go to the studio to help Dannie, if he needs it. Then, _you_ come over for dinner later. Sound good?” Therese was standing her ground. She wanted to be Carol’s equal in this relationship. _Whoa, relationship? You are getting ahead of yourself, aren’t ya?_

“Ok, ok. Fine. Can I at least drive you to your studio? I can be late to my appointment.”

“Yes.”

\----

They drove across the Brooklyn bridge in silence, except for the radio. It was playing Fleetwood Mac and Therese began humming along, staring out at the river.

Carol reached over and held her hand tightly, resting it on the younger woman’s leg.

“What time should I come over?”

“Anytime is fine, really. Maybe 6? Do you like steak?”

“You know the key to my heart. Yes, I love it!” giving Therese’s hand a squeeze.

They pulled up in front of Snapped. “Can I get the tour before I go?”

“Sure! There’s not much, but yeah. Come in.”

They walked hand in hand through the front door. Dannie was sitting at the front desk checking his phone.

“Oh, I see, I pay you to tweet all day, huh?” Therese said joking.

“Yeah, just running your social media. You’re welcome.” Dannie shot back. He noticed their hands intertwined and greeted Carol. “Good to see you again, Carol. I want to thank you for getting this one out of my hair for a while.” Therese elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’m going to give Carol the 5-cent tour then I’ll help you setup for the Union shoot.” With that, she led Carol down the short hallway and into the large studio at the end. There was a floor to ceiling white backdrop on the main wall and a dark red backdrop on a smaller wall. There were lights in the corners and a few chairs folded up. Carol noticed plush rugs scattered throughout the room. “We mainly use those to stand on. The concrete floors are no friend to my lower back.” She laughed. “But some bands like to use them in live videos. I found them all at flea markets.” “Come on, I’ll show you my office.”

They walked back up toward the front but entered a door halfway down the hall.

Carol had never seen a room that described one person so well. Even though she had only known Therese a few days, this room felt like her soul.

It was a small room with a vintage hunter-green couch and a patterned rug with gold accents. The walls were painted matte black. There were black and white pictures in gold frames lining the walls. Her desk was very simple but fit the room well. There was a small coffee table in front of the couch. It was an old suitcase with legs attached.

“So, the story is, everything is second hand. I’m not even kidding. The couch is from a furniture store across town, the rug is from a flea market, the desk is from a flea market, the suitcase was mine as a kid. It was too sad and broken to continue using so I threw some legs on it and voila. And…all the pictures on the walls are mine. I shot them, I mean.” Therese stood anxiously as Carol circled the room, taking in all of the photographs. 

“These are beautiful. I can’t believe you shot these! You are so talented, Therese.”

Pointing to a photo of a small boy, staring straight into the camera with only a pair of gym shorts on, “What’s this one?”

Therese came up behind her and was taken back to the day she shot this photo. “This one is actually pretty hard to look at sometimes. So…I grew up in an orphanage. I was in and out of foster care, but spent the majority of my childhood in this home on the edge of the city. I’ll explain that story later tonight. But, anyway, I went back to the orphanage a few years ago and the place had completely gone to shit. I guess their main sponsor, investor, whatever you want to call him…he passed away and his kids didn’t want to continue funding the home. They started going under but these kids had no where to go so the women that worked there started bringing in money and food from their own homes. I went to visit and try to help in anyway I could, even just cleaning up every now and then. This boy was outside, playing in the dirt and I sat with him for a while. He told me how his mother was ‘taken away by the police’ and he and his sister were brought to the home. Well, his sister was transferred to foster care and immediately adopted just a year or two after arriving.”

She took a minute to breathe. She hadn’t told this story to anyone before. That’s why the photo is in her private office. Dannie was the only person that knew about the boy and Therese’s background. But, that was only because they met in school and have been glued to each other’s sides for over a decade.

“Anyway, long story short, his name is Tavin. He’s nine now and is set to get adopted next month!”

Drying her eyes on her sleeve, “Therese. That is amazing. I can’t…I can’t imagine what-“

“Don’t.” Therese stopped her from continuing. “We’ll talk about it later. I had a fine childhood. Don’t feel bad for me.”

Carol placed her hand on the side of Therese’s face and rubbed her cheek with her thumb. “Ok. I won’t. I’m glad you kept up with Tavin though. That was very kind of you.”

“Oh. Yeah, uh…yeah he’s a good kid.” Therese didn’t want to give Carol the whole story just yet. “Wow, it’s almost 11:30! You better get going.” Carol leaned in to kiss her. It was quick but it made her stomach do a summersault.

“I’ll see you at 6, darling.”

\----

Therese and Dannie finished the shoot for the band and were cleaning up the back room.

“So, when’s your court date set for?”

“I meant to tell you, it’s set on your birthday! How perfect is that?!” Dannie laughed.

“What? That’s amazing. We will have to have a double celebration! Is Louise getting excited?”

“You have no idea! Hey, why don’t we have a party at our house that night? And even if things don’t go well on our end, we’ll still have a reason to celebrate!"

She stopped cleaning and grabbed Dannie’s shoulder, forcing him to look her in the eye.

“Hey, it’s going to be fine. This is going to happen for you guys. I’ve seen this process many times and no one has a case as good as yours.”

“Thanks, T. I hope so. I just really want to be…legally, Tavin’s dad.”


	7. Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter got a little out of hand...oops. Hope you enjoy!

Carol knocked on the door at 6:15pm. Therese took a deep breath, not prepared for how flushed she would inevitably get when she saw whatever Carol had chosen to wear that evening.

Opening the door, she was pleased to find Carol in a much simpler outfit than any of their prior meetings. She had on loose jeans that were cuffed and hit a little above the ankles, a black cashmere sweater that hung a little loose as well, and white slip on shoes that looked like Vans but were clearly much more expensive. 

“Well, even though I love you in a suit, I’m pleased to find you own casual clothing.”

She let out a hearty laugh, “what, do you think I wear blazers all day, every day?”

“I’d like to think so, yes. You are very… _sexy_ in a blazer.” Therese said, pulling Carol inside by the hand.

“Mmm, make me dinner before you start hitting on me, Belivet.” She kissed her, a little longer than she meant to but it was hard to pull away.

Therese was the first to break the kiss, “Okay, okay the food is getting cold!”

Following her into the kitchen, Carol was gifted with the smell of steak and was directed to a seat at the small dining table in the corner.

“I went simple tonight, I hope that’s okay. It’s no high-class restaurant, but I’m a good chef, if I do say so myself.” Therese wiggled her eyebrows.

“It smells lovely, darling. What do we have?”

“Caprese salad to start. Then steak, medium, with yellow mashed potatoes. And…a glass of red for the lady.” Handing Carol a large glass of wine.

“My, my, you sure do know how to treat a woman, don’t you?” throwing a wink at the younger woman.

They sat in comfortable silence while they ate, only sharing stories from their separate afternoons.

After they finished, Carol asked if there was dessert.

“Do you need to be anywhere later?” the brunette asked, anxiously.

“No. Why do you ask?” she knew where this was going.

“Well then. There will be dessert. Later.” Giving Carol a dimpled smile, blushing profusely.

Carol walked towards Therese, trapping her in between the counter and her own body.

“And what can I expect with this delectable dessert?” she kissed Therese hard and placed her hands on the counter.

“Me…you…” Therese tried to speak in between passionate kisses. “Naked…and-“ She was cut off when Carol slipped her thigh in between her legs. They both moaned into the kiss.

Forcing herself to pull away, she placed her hands on Carol’s shoulders and pushed back just a little to meet her eyeline. “Okay.” Moaning a little, disguising it as a cough, “I thought we could watch a movie. Maybe have some more wine?” Reluctantly pulling her thigh away, “Okay _baby._ ”

_God, there it is again. That dammed word. I’ve heard that word a million times. Why do I shiver every time she says it??_

She cleared her throat again, filling the wine glasses and walked over to the maroon couch in the middle of her tiny living room.

Carol sat very close, facing Therese, with her knees underneath her and her right arm on the back of the couch.

Trying to focus on the matter at hand, Therese turned the TV and DVD player on. “Okay, I know it’s old school but I have Dirty Dancing on DVD if you’re good with that?” “That’s one of my favorite films! Although, I’m a little offended that you call a movie from the 80’s ‘old school’.”

“No, no, I was calling the DVD old school. Well…I mean…I’m really not helping my case here, am I?”

They both laughed. Therese slipped the disc in, very aware of Carol’s eyes on her ass as she bent over, then sat next back down, draping her arm over Carol’s thighs.

They made it all the way up to the part where Baby starts dancing to ‘Love Is Strange’ before they started making out like teenagers.

It started with a look. Carol had been watching Therese for about ten minutes. Staring at her profile, watching her laugh at certain lines and even, absentmindedly, mouthing the words a couple of times. Right when Baby said “come here, lover boy” Therese turned to smile widely at Carol. Surprised to see her already starting back, they shared eye contact for what felt like an eternity. Then, Carol leaned forward, meeting Therese’s lips in a soft and gentle kiss.

Their lips slowly danced around for a few minutes before Carol licked across the brunette’s lips, asking for permission to enter her mouth. Therese let a moan slip out when she felt the warm wet tongue meet her own. Like a reflex, she weaved her hands in Carol’s hair, pulling her closer.

This lead to Carol pushing her on her back, intertwining their legs. Hands were dancing across each other’s bodies, grabbing necks, pulling each other as close as they could possibly get. Therese felt Carol’s hips moving on their own, in search of any kind of friction. Getting frustrated that she wasn’t getting enough, “Is it time for-“ leaning in for another kiss, “dessert-“ and another, “-yet?” and another.

Therese laughed. The kind of laugh that made her chest rattle with happiness. She threw her head back and closed her eyes before finally looking into Carol’s. “Yes, I think it’s time for dessert now.”

 

They slowly rose from the couch and Therese grabbed her hand, guiding her toward the small bedroom at the end of the hallway.

“You’re ruined this hallway for me, you know that, right?” she turned around to kiss Carol before they continued walking.

“Why’s that?” kissing back. Slowly inching Therese toward the wall, without being too obvious.

“From your very detailed…bedtime story.”

“Oh, darling, you didn’t enjoy that?” Giving her a fake pouting face.

“Quite the opposite, babe.”

“Yeah? You want me to make it come to life?” she pushed the brunette against the wall, hard. Causing her to gasp. Before she could realize what was happening, she felt Carol’s lips all over her. Skin burning at the touch. Carol dipped her head to kiss and lick her neck.

Therese grabbed at her back, scratching, trying to get Carol closer and closer.

“You want me to take you right here against the wall?” she said in a seductive tone.

“Mmm…agh! Yes. Fuck…Carol.”

She began kissing lower and lower. Pushing Therese’s shirt up to kiss her lower belly, getting on her knees. She unbuttoned the younger woman’s jeans, easing them down her legs and tossing them down the hall. She leaned in, pressing her nose to Therese’s cunt, through her panties.   “You want me to taste you, baby?”

Looking down at the blonde, there on her knees, staring right into Therese’s soul. She was sure this was the sexiest sight she had ever seen. She threw her head back and whispered “Please”

Carol wasted no time, ripping her panties off and easing her legs open. Holding on to her thighs, to keep her steady, Carol finally let her tongue take one slow swipe from Therese’s center up to her clit.

Therese screamed. Louder than she had ever screamed before. Then she felt Carol go back in for another taste and moan against her pussy. She felt it vibrate through her entire body.

 _It’s only been two seconds and I am already shaking. Fuck._ Jumping slightly, _was that her teeth?! Oh my-_

Her thoughts were cut off when she felt Carol’s tongue begin to move faster. She pulled Therese’s legs open even wider and threw one thigh over her shoulder. She lapped up all the juices flowing freely from the cunt her mouth was attached to. She sucked her clit into her mouth and tugged a little with her teeth, causing the younger woman to moan loudly and push her head closer.

Removing her hand that was wrapped around Therese’s thigh, she brought a finger to her entrance and slowly teased the woman above her. After hearing a few ‘yes’s and ‘oh fuck’s, she slowly entered her lover. Pumping in and out, while continuing to suck on her hardened, pulsing, clit. She moaned into Therese once more and that seemed to be her undoing.

She darted her eyes up at the brunette to watch her climax. Now, that was the sexiest sight _Carol_ had ever seen.

She continued licking Therese softly as she came down. Breathing heavily. She sunk down to the floor to join Carol. Her eyes were heavy and she grabbed the back of Carol’s neck to pull her into a deep kiss.

Laughing as they fell over, Carol on top of the smaller woman.

“Carol,” trying to level out her breathing, “I’m going to need a minute. That was…wow.”

She laughed and continued kissing down Therese’s neck.

“No rush, baby. But…I could always take a seat-“

“Yes” Therese knew what the end of that sentence was and wanted nothing more than for Carol to spread herself open, above her.

She helped the blonde out of her jeans and tugged the cashmere sweater over her head. Pleased to find a black, lace bralette underneath. 

Unable to resist the urge, Therese leaned forward, kissing Carol’s cleavage. _I’ve wanted to do this since the day I saw her and now, here we are. On the floor._

She licked around a hard nipple through the lace and felt Carol’s hand in her hair. She bit down, causing Carol to yelp, which turned into a moan, and tug Therese’s hair harder.

Therese laid back down, pulling the blonde’s thighs toward her face. She bit her lip as she saw swollen, pink flesh coming toward her. Carol was absolutely dripping.

She hovered herself above Therese’s lips, grinning down at her. Then Therese pulled her down by the ass and began licking and sucking.

Therese moaned into Carol when she felt how warm and wet she was. She tasted better than anything Therese had ever put in her mouth before.

“Oh, fuck. Baby.” Carol was gasping for air, moving her hips in time with the tongue underneath her. She had one hand in Therese’s hair and the other anchored to the wall next to her.

Therese was ruthless with her mouth. She set a rhythm swiping her tongue up and down Carol’s soaked cunt. Occasionally sucking her clit into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it.

“Baby. Oh. I’m close, keep going.” Carol said through labored breaths.

Therese then entered her with her tongue. This caused Carol to almost double over from pleasure. She then began moving her hips more violently, grinding herself down on to her lover’s tongue. With every thrust, her clit would meet the tip of Therese’s nose, causing her to cry out.

It only took a few more minutes of Therese’s pumping inside of her, and grinding against her face, for her to collapse on top of the brunette.

Therese removed her tongue and flattened it to spread warm licks up and down Carol’s cunt. She felt her juices trailing down her chin and on to her chest. Not that she minded in the slightest.

When Carol finally came to, she crawled down Therese’s body and curled into her side. They kissed lazily and let each other rest for a few minutes.

“Hey.” Therese said, poking Carol in the ribs. “Let’s get cleaned up and go lay in bed.” Reluctantly, Carol stood up and allowed herself to be led to the bathroom.


	8. The Flower Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese reveals her past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have written three chapters in one day so y'all are about to get multiple updates! This chapter touches on rape for a moment, be aware. No graphic details though!   
> I hope you enjoy!

After mind-blowing hallway sex and mind-blowing shower sex, the pair laid in bed, exhausted.

Therese was the first to break the silence. “So, when do you leave for LA?”

Carol stared at the ceiling, absentmindedly playing with Therese’s fingers. “Thursday, after Rindy gets out of school. Then we get back Sunday night. Why? You going to miss me?” she turned to wink at Therese.

“No, nothing like that.” She smiled, blushing. “Just wondering when I’ll see you next.”   
  
“Well, darling, you’ll see me tomorrow when we inevitably go to my office together.”  
  
Therese got warm from the thought of waking up to Carol, getting ready together, drinking coffee, and riding to work together. It was an image she’d like to get used to.

“What are you thinking over there, pink cheeks?” She was pulled from her thoughts.

“I was think—oh I suppose it’s too early for that. Never mind.”  
  
“Well now you have to tell me!” Carol flipped over so she was facing Therese, supporting herself on her forearms.

“I mean, I don't want to rush things, but then again we’ve already had sex on the second date. I’m just wondering what your expectations are. With me, I mean."  
  
“I suppose I don’t really have any right now. I want to keep seeing you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Therese struggled to find the words to articulate her feelings. “I mean…it’s really none of my business. I just like to be aware of what I’m getting myself into.”   
  
Before she could continue, Carol leaned over and kissed her. “I’m not seeing anyone else, baby. Just you. You’re the only one I want.”

Therese blushed and stuttered, “Oh. Ok. G-good. Good."

“God, you’re adorable.”

She rolled her eyes at the blonde’s comment and sunk deeper into the sheets, turning to face away from Carol.

The taller woman came behind her, wrapping her arm and leg around her and whispered in her ear, “Am I the only woman you’re letting fuck you against the wall? Two walls, now that I think about it.” Smirking, remembering their jaunt against the shower wall just an hour ago.

“Mmm yes, Carol. You are the only one I want fucking me against a wall.”

She turned to kiss her. Stopping before it got too heated.

“I did want to talk to you about something though. About our conversation earlier, in my office.”  
  
“Oh, yes. Do you mind if I make us some tea first? Do you have a robe or something I can borrow?”

“Of course. There’s one on the back of the bathroom door and the tea is above the stove.”  
  
She watched Carol swing her legs off the side of the bed, reaching her hands up in the air to stretch her back. She had never seen a sexier back. _What a weird thing to find attractive. I don’t care. That back belongs in a museum._

Carol swayed her hips, knowing she was being watched, as she left the room.

She returned five minutes later with two mugs filled with green tea. Sitting cross legged on the bed, facing Therese who was propped up against the pillows, sheet covering her.

“Eh-hem…Carol can you um…. Jesus Christ...”  
  
“What?” completely thrown off by Therese’s lack of words.   
  
“Can you…close your legs? I can’t focus.”  
  
Carol laughed and blushed, not realizing she was on full display. “Sorry, darling. Okay, I genuinely want to hear this so please, go ahead.”  
  
“There’s really one point I want to make but I’ll give you the backstory since you seemed interested earlier. So, when I was about 6-years-old, my dad died. Leaving just my mom and I. She couldn’t hold a job to save her life and she would date these…just piece of shit guys that got her into drugs. We would move in with whatever guy she was dating at the time, live there for a few months, then move into the women’s shelter after they broke up. I was going to school, but that was not her doing. I would wake up every morning, get myself ready, and take the subway with money I stole from her boyfriends. When we would go to the shelter, I was able to walk to school. I learned to read very early on, so I knew street names and things like that. Plus, when my dad was alive, we would walk the city together. It was our thing. He would read off the street names that we would pass, point out landmarks so I would remember where I was, and he was the one to walk me to school every day until he died.”  
  
Carol reached for her hand but Therese squeezed it then pulled away. “I’m sorry babe. I know you’re just trying to comfort me but we’re both still very naked and I definitely won’t be able to finish my story.” She said with a hearty laugh.  
Carol gave her a loving smile and allowed her to continue, sipping her tea.

“After I turned 8, I guess lugging a kid around, when you’re just trying to get laid and do some blow, isn’t the ideal situation. So, my mom dropped me at the orphanage I was telling you about. She told me it was the best thing for me and they would take better care of me than she could. I didn’t even cry because I knew she was right. She was a terrible mother, ever since day one. My dad was always the more nurturing one. Anyway, I quickly became close to the staff, since I was so mature for my age. I told them I would walk myself to school every morning and return every afternoon. I would let them know if I had playdates with friends or after school activities, so they wouldn’t worry. It was a good relationship we had. They treated me like an adult. When I was about 12, a social worker came into the home and said she had a placement for me. It was with a family in Brooklyn that already had three other kids they were fostering. I did NOT want to leave. That was my home. I had a family and a routine and it was close to my school, with all my friends. But, the foster care system couldn’t give a rat’s ass about any of that. So, they packed me up and I went to Brooklyn. I had to start a whole new school in the middle of the semester. I had to share a room with one of the other girls. It was awful. The parents were rarely home and when they were, they would constantly drink and pass out on the couch. They were only fostering us so they could get the paycheck every month.”

Therese stopped to breathe. She hadn’t relived this part of her life. Ever. She has talked about some of the kids she met with Dannie, but never broken it down into this much detail.

“After I had been living there for a few months…ok, Carol, I’ve never talked about this before. With anyone. I don’t know why I feel compelled to tell you, I just do. I trust you.”

“Okay, baby. I’m right here.” Carol was itching to grab her hand and guide her through this conversation, but she stayed still, clutching her mug.

“Gosh, as soon as I start this, you’ll know how it ends. Okay,” Taking another deep breath. “It was my 13th birthday. I didn’t tell anyone in the house because I knew they wouldn’t do anything for the occasion. I just celebrated with my class. The teacher brought cupcakes and everyone sang to me. I was officially a teenager, which should’ve been a happy thing. But, I was in a brand-new school and didn’t know anyone. That night, I went straight to bed because I was just so angry at the world. I was angry with my dad for dying, angry with my mom for being a moron, and angry at the system that put me in that hell hole of a house. I was almost asleep when I heard one of the older boys come into my room…I guess no one else was home. I had been in my room since 3 o’clock that afternoon. I won’t give you any gory details but…he…forced himself on me.”

At this point, Carol abandoned her mug and came right next to Therese, grabbing on to her hand for dear life. Tears filling her eyes.

“I’m fine now. I kind of just let it happen, then. I mean, I was 13. I didn’t even know what it was. I just knew it hurt but he was 16 and a lot stronger than me so I couldn’t fight back. The next day, I called the social worker that placed me and told her what happened. She said she wouldn’t file a report because nobody would believe a 13-year-old. She did, however, let me go back to stay at the orphanage. I was like a zombie for months. I didn’t tell anyone, I just…existed for a while. I never tried to hurt myself or anything, I knew I would come back to life eventually but that didn’t happen until I met Dannie. I was 15 when we met. We were in the same class and quickly became best friends.”

She noticed Carol’s death grip on her hand. “Hey” pulling Carol’s chin up to meet her eyes, “I’m okay. I’m not brushing off what happened to me but, there was nothing I could’ve done. I was helpless and in a terrible situation where nobody was willing to help me. You aren’t going to hurt me when we have sex, if that’s what you’re worrying about.”  
  
“No, darling, that’s not what I’m worried about. I’m just…I don’t even know. I don’t know how to respond or react. I just want to keep you safe and wish I could’ve prevented that from happening to you.”  
  
“Aw, hey, come here.” Therese wrapped her up in a tight hug, kissing her temple. “I feel so safe with you already. So, your job is done.”

They stayed like that for another few minutes before Carol broke the silence and sat back up, “Okay, back to Dannie. Sorry.”   
  
“Dannie McElroy. I love that man. He is basically my brother. So, like I said, we became best friends very quickly. I spent a lot of time at his house. He has the most wonderful parents and an older brother, Phil. They treated me like a member of their family. When I was 17, a semester away from graduating, Dannie’s parents suggested adopting me. Mainly to get me out of the orphanage and I was already a part of the family. So, we did the whole thing, went to court and they adopted me around Christmas. My mom had signed her parental rights away when she gave me to the home, so the process didn’t take too long. That year was the first Christmas I was truly happy. Now, it’s my favorite holiday!”

She gave Carol a wide smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“Like I told you before, I went back to the home a few years ago to help out, which is when I met Tavin. I saw so much of myself in his eyes, and I wanted to do every thing I could to prevent him from growing up like I did. So…I kind of…bought the orphanage."  
  
Carol’s eyes went wide then turned into a smile. “Therese, that’s amazing!”   
  
“Yeah, I help fund it but we also do a ton of fundraisers because there are so many kids to take care of. I work really closely with the social workers that come in, making sure these kids get placed in actual homes with good people instead of going through what I went through. We rebranded the entire place. Tavin has helped me so much with that. He’s got a passion for art-drawing and painting. So, he designed our logo and came up with the new name, ‘The Flower Garden’. When I asked him where he came up with it he said, ‘This is a flower garden because we are like all the flowers. You guys water us and feed us and make sure we are safe, then someone comes to adopt us and they replant us in their home, where we grow up big and tall.’ I just about fell to the floor crying. He is amazing and has such an imagination! Anyway, the point I was getting to was…Dannie is adopting Tavin next month!”  
  
Carol froze for a split second before Therese’s words settled. She halfway expected Therese to say ‘I’m adopting Tavin next month’ but was also happy with the result of the statement.

“Darling, that is amazing. I’m so glad you have the ability to help the home and are able to work so closely with everyone there. Although, I’m sure it’s hard to go back there and see kids in the same position you were in all those years ago…”

“It is, but I just always tell myself they are better off than I was because they have someone that’s looking out for them, which I didn’t have. Also, that’s why my apartment is so shitty…because I put the majority of my money into the garden. I’m sure your place is much nicer with your hot shot lawyer money” she said winking at the blonde.

“Baby, I love your apartment. It’s so…you.”

“Alright, I’m going to take that as a compliment and move on” laughing loudly at Carol.

“Well, you’re one to talk. You’re the hot shot photographer that has an apartment, a studio, and manages to keep an orphanage afloat. So, who’s the real winner here?”

“Okay okay let’s call it a tie. I would like to see your fancy apartment though.” Therese said, pulling Carol down into a kiss.

“I still have to cook for you. You’ll have to come over when I get back from LA.”

“Deal. Alright, it is now past midnight. The woman I’m working for tomorrow is really demanding so I should get my sleep.” She winked at Carol who pinched her side.

“Mmm, darling, I forgot you were naked. I don’t think you’ll be getting much sleep tonight.” She took her robe off and pulled Therese in for a heated kiss before rolling on top of her.

\----

The next two days flew by. Therese worked with Carol, at her office, in the mornings then did photoshoots at the studio in the afternoons. By the time Friday rolled around, Carol was in LA and Therese had the entire day free.

She laid in bed, returning emails, checking her social media accounts, and checking Carol’s Instagram page to keep up with her adventures with Rindy. Just as she was clicking on a picture of the Santa Monica pier, her lover’s caller ID popped up.   
  
“Were your ears burning? I was just looking at your Instagram pictures. Looks like you and Rindy had fun at the pier last night.”  
  
“You spying on me, Belivet?” Therese could hear the grin in her voice. “Yes we did, sorry I didn’t call you when we got to the hotel. Rindy wanted to go to the pier immediately after we dropped our bags off. We ended up staying until they closed all the rides!”

“It’s hard for me to picture you on a carnival rides but…whatever you say”

“I’ll send you photographic evidence, don’t worry. What do you have going today?”   
  
“Well, my shoot cancelled and my hot lawyer is out of town so I’m free as a bird! What about you?”  
  
“Rindy is still asleep. I’m on the balcony drinking coffee. I think we’re going to hike the Hollywood hill today.”   
  
“That sounds like fun. I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“I’ll have to make another trip and bring you next time.”

“I’d like that. I might go to a furniture store today. The one where I got my office couch from. I need to pick up some pieces for the home.”  
  
“Oh, my best friend, Abby owns a store near my office! You should go there. It’s called ‘Nerinda’, after Rindy. She’s Rindy’s godmother. I’ll tell her you’re coming and make sure she takes care of you!”  
  
“Wait, I knew that name sounded familiar! That’s where I got my couch! Is Abby the brunette that is always there?”  
  
“The one and only! That’s crazy. I will definitely be calling her then! Yeah, we’ve been friends since we were about 10.”

“Are you going to tell her _who_ I am?” Therese wanted to know what Abby’s knowledge of her was going to be, before she walked in.

“I’d like to. She already knows I’ve started seeing someone but I haven’t given her any details.”  
  
“Okay, that’s fine with me. I’m excited to re-meet her as your best friend. But I do have to say, she already likes me so I think I’m good there.” She said laughing.

“Well, her and Rindy are my only other deciding factors so, as long as you get in good with the kid you’ll be fine.”

“Do you want me to meet Rindy? I don’t want to rush that. I know how important it is to introduce your child to someone. Trust me, I was introduced to many, many men as a kid.”  
  
“Darling, I would love for you to meet Rindy. I’m way too crazy about you to keep you a secret from her. Maybe we can all do dinner Sunday night, when her and I get back?”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude. You will probably be tired.”  
  
“Nonsense, if you’re free, I’d like to cook you and my daughter dinner.” Carol said grinning widely.

“Okay then. I’ll come over Sunday night. What time do you land?”   
  
“About 2pm. So, we’ll have plenty of time to get cleaned up and fix dinner. Plus, Rindy will go to Harge’s after dinner so I can have you to myself. Is it crazy that I already miss you?”

“I was going to say the same thing! I guess we’re just used to seeing each other every morning for the past week. My bed still smells like you, it’s driving me insane.”  
  
“Aw, honey, do I smell that awful?” smirking, knowing exactly what Therese meant.

“No. Your scent is maddening! Who smells that good all the time?! Ugh, even…other parts of your body smell good.”   
  
Carol’s breath hitched. “Mmm baby you smell amazing as well. I miss it."

Therese started to breathe heavily, Carol took notice. “Baby, I would indulge you right now if my 16-year-old daughter wasn’t waking up on the other side of this glass door.” She said in a whisper.

Laughing, Therese responded, “I know, I didn’t expect you to. But you _will_ repay me when we’re alone.”

“Deal.”

 

Two minutes later, Therese’s phone buzzed with a picture of Carol and Rindy on the Ferris wheel.


	9. Try Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese pays a visit to Abby's store and Carol reveals more about her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I am way too anxious to keep these chapters to myself! Here is chapter 9 and I'll post chapter 10 shortly.  
> But don't expect multiple updates in 1 week to become a regular thing (; 
> 
> Tell me what you think!

Therese took the subway to the CTA stop and walked down the block to ‘Nerinda’. When she walked in, Abby immediately greeted her with a hug. “Therese! So good to see you! Carol called me this morning and informed me of the connection we all have now.” She said laughing.

“Abby, good to see you again. Yes, I just started seeing her…well…I guess it’s only been about a week.” She said nervously laughing.

“All good. Lesbians move fast.” Abby assured her.

“I know, I’ve just never moved…quite this fast before, but I’m not complaining. Carol is great! As you know.”

“She’s alright” Abby teased. “Okay so what are you looking for today? Carol said it’s for an orphanage that you own? That is too cool. I’d love to come by sometime. We have some pieces that we can’t sell, from time to time, I’d love to donate them if you have the room!”

“Uh…wow. Yes, I’d love that! That is so kind of you.”

“No sweat, kid. We normally donate them to the homeless shelter, but they are running out of room and…I slept with the manager over there and didn’t call her back so it’s not the best place for me to frequent.” Abby confessed. “All we have right now in the donate pile is an end table, but it’s about two soft kicks away from falling over.” She gave a hearty laugh.

Therese liked Abby. She had since the first time she came in the store. Abby is very outgoing and has a nice, inviting voice. She speaks very quickly, it’s hard to keep up sometimes. She seemed like a ‘take no shit’ kind of gal, which Therese enjoyed.

“I am looking for a couple beds, we have some new kids coming in about a month and we are out of beds at the moment. If you have any twin sizes, that’d be great!”

Abby lead her over to the kids’ section and they found a bed that was fairly cheap, and Abby just happened to have two of them. She rang Therese up at the front counter, saying she could have them delivered by Wednesday of next week. Just as they were about to say their goodbyes, Abby’s phone rang. “Well, speak of the devil. It’s Carol.” She answered the call, putting it on FaceTime.

“Hello Carol. I’m here with Therese.” Abby moved the phone so both of them were in the shot.

“Hi ladies. Darling, is Abby treating you well? She’s not telling any embarrassing stories about me, is she?”

“No, but I think I’ll have to stick around a little longer to hear some of those” Therese said, grinning at Carol.

“What have I done, telling you I know Abby?! Anyway, I was calling because I wanted to know if you needed anymore of that ridiculous face cream you buy out here. Rindy and I are going shopping later and I can run by that boutique if you need.”

“Ooo yes, pick me up a few bottles. And don’t make fun! I look closer to Therese’s age than yours because of that cream!”

“You look closer to Therese’s age because I’m a lawyer and have a teenager.” She said, rolling her eyes.

Therese smiled, revealing her dimples, watching the two friends interact.

“Oh, Rindy is coming. Do you want to say hi?”

Abby spoke up quickly, “Hell yes, let me say hello to my goddaughter.” Therese jumped out of the frame, not unnoticed by the two older women.

“Hey kid! What’s going on? You enjoying LA?” Therese heard Rindy speak for the first time and she sounded so much like Carol.

“Yeah! It’s so much more spread out than New York. Traffic is about the same though.” The pair shared a laugh and continued talking for a couple minutes before Rindy jetted off inside the restaurant they were walking to.

Therese came back in the frame when she heard Carol. “Sorry, Carol. I just didn’t want to meet Rindy via facetime and wasn’t sure if you’d talked to her about Sunday yet.”

Abby gave her friend a questioning look and wiggled her eyebrows. “What’s Sunday?”

“Therese is coming over for dinner.”

Abby looked at both women and just smiled. “I see my invitation got lost in the mail.”

“Abby, shut up! Rindy is calling me in to pay for our food. We’re going hiking after this. You two don’t have too much fun without me!” They shared goodbyes and hung up the phone.

 

“So, what kind of embarrassing stories do you have about Carol?” Therese let her dimples show again.

“I’ll just give you one or else she will kill me for revealing all of her secrets.” Abby settled on her stool behind the counter while Therese leaned on the other side.

“Once, when we were in high school, our parents forced us to do cotillion. We both hated it and were in our rebellious phase. Anyway, I bought some shitty weed from this guy in my lit class and we were going to smoke it before the big cotillion dance. We were in the dressing rooms when I pulled it out and we were going to sneak out behind the building. Well, before we could even get the rest of our clothes on, Carol’s mom bursts into the dressing room. So, she shoved the bag of weed in her underwear! Her mom rushed us to get our dresses on then escorted us to the ballroom. So, the entire night, Carol was walking weird and in all of her pictures from that night…she has this face that looks like she’s constipated!” Abby was laughing so hard at this point and Therese quickly joined her. “She blamed her walking on the heels she was wearing but oh my god, it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.”

Therese wiped the tears from her eyes. “Well I’m definitely going to tease her about that!”

“Do it. She was mortified. She never ended up trying pot with me because of it.”

Abby and Therese said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch when Abby got more donatable furniture.

 

When Therese left the store and stepped on to the sidewalk, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Carol.

It was a picture of Carol standing on top of a hill, behind the Hollywood sign, wearing the tightest pair of high-waisted leggings, a dark green sports bra, and she had her arms flexed. She looked absolutely amazing. Therese quickly saved the photo and typed back,

**WOW! What a babe! *heart eye emoji* Are you making your daughter take sexy photos of you to send to me?!** **-T**

**Maybe (;**

**Are you complaining? -C**

**Never, baby. -T**

**Did  Abby just ruin my chance of ever gaining your respect? -C**

**Haha! No, respect is still intact. But I am interested in seeing those cotillion photos (; -T**

**OH GOD. She told you that story?? I took it as a sign that I shouldn’t smoke pot EVER. -C**

**Fair enough. I’m still going to need to see those photos. -T**

**Ruthless -C**

**You love it -T**

**I do -C**

**Feel free to send me more sports bra pics. Maybe when you’re done with your hike. -T**

**And you’re sweaty (; -T**

**Naughty girl. We’ll see (; -C**

Therese dropped her phone in her back pocket as she entered the subway, heading to the studio to get some edits done while she had the time.

She sat down in front of her large computer screen and began sifting through the thousands of photos from her last band shoot. She was deep in color correcting when her phone buzzed again.

This time, it was a shot of Carol, sitting on the trail. Absolutely dripping in sweat. With a nice shot of her cleavage.

**OK now you’re just not being fair. -T**

**You have no idea who you’re messing with, darling. (; -C**

**Try me -T**

Never wanting to back down from a challenge, Carol sent another shot. She had pulled her sports bra down a little more, revealing more of her large sweaty breasts. Her collarbones were prominent and glistening. Therese’s mouth watered just from looking at it.

**Ok you win. Jesus. I want to lick that sweat right off of you. -T**

**Thought so (;**

**I’ll call you later, darling. -C**

***kiss emoji* -T**

\----

Therese’s phone rang around midnight. She jumped at the noise and answered the facetime call from Carol, leaning the phone against her computer screen.

“Baby, where are you? Are you in your office?”

“Ugh. Yes.” Letting her face fall into her hands. “I’ve been here all day. Since I left Abby’s.”

“What time is it there? It has to be past midnight.”

Rubbing her eyes under her glasses, “It is. I need to go home. But I’m working on a music video and I’m trying to sync up the track with the video and it’s just not working in my favor.” 

“Well, at least you look cute doing it. I like the glasses” she winked at Therese.

“Oh. I forgot I was wearing them. I only wear them when I work on the computer. I’m getting old. Eyesight is the first thing to go.” She said giggling.

“Honey, if you’re getting old then I’m already in the ground.” They shared a laugh together, then just stared at each other for a few minutes. They were comfortable in silences like this. Right after a light moment, they always seemed to look deep into each other’s eyes.

“Stop staring, Aird.”

“Ugh, don’t call me that.”

“That’s your name.”

“That’s Harge’s name. I just still have it for Rindy’s sake and the firm. As soon as Rindy is out of school, I’m going back to my maiden name.”

“Which is?”

“Ross”

“Hmm, Carol Ross. I like it” Therese said smiling back at her lover.

“Actually, my full name is Carolyn.” She said wincing a little.

“What?! I didn’t know that! I love that. It’s cute.”

“It is not! My mother insisted on a ‘proper’ name like Carolyn. I hated it growing up.”

“What’s your middle name, Carolyn Ross?” winking at her, through the phone.

“Elizabeth. What’s yours, Therese Belivet?”

“Anne. So boring.”

“No, I like it. Therese Anne Belivet. It’s nice.” Carol started staring again.

“What’s Rindy’s full name?”

“Nerinda Elise Aird”

“That’s beautiful. Where did you come up with the name, Nerinda?”

“I read it in a book once, as a kid. But can never remember the book. My mother always had to remind me.”

“What’s the story with your parents? I don’t even know if you have any siblings.” Therese chastised herself for not asking before.

“Oh, it’s not a great story. Basically, my parents both come from family money so they had this ‘image’ they wanted to hold up when they started a family. I have a younger sister, Eileen, who’s 34…I think. I haven’t spoken to her in years. Ever since she found out I was gay and not going to suppress it, like she so lovingly asked me to, she stopped talking to me. My dad was the best. He and I would do everything together. We would ride horses, go skeet shooting, I was his carbon copy. My mother, on the other hand, always thought I was too much of a tomboy and would force me into things like cotillion, like Abby told you. Which just made me hate her more. When I was in college, and started exploring my sexuality and my mother threatened to cut me off and stop paying for school. Obviously, I did not have the means to be paying for law school on my own so I straightened up, so to speak, and began dating Harge. What made me angrier was that my dad just let my mom do that. He never said a word about it to me. When I would ask him what his opinion was, all he would say is ‘this is what your mother thinks is best’. Not long after, he got sick and passed away.” Carol came to wipe a single tear that had fallen.

“I think that’s when I started getting closer to Harge. He comforted me and I confused it with love. But marrying him made my mom stop harassing me, so it was okay. She died a few years ago. We went to her funeral but my sister refused to speak to me the entire time. She also demanded that everything was left in her name because ‘we don’t need our family name or money being tainted by a lesbian’.” Carol rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m plenty comfortable with my own income. I’m just sad Rindy isn’t growing up around her cousins. I remember loving when my cousins would come over.”

“I understand, but you’re doing the right thing for you and your wellbeing, which is important too.” Therese said, trying to soothe Carol.

“I know, thank you darling. Sorry to bring the mood down. Why don’t you go home? It’s late.”

“I think I will. Will you stay on the phone with me? The subway freaks me out at night and I’m all the way in Brooklyn.” Therese almost begged.

“Yes, I’ll stay on the phone.” Therese locked up the studio, walked to the nearest entrance to the subway, and popped her headphones in.

“So, what are you girls doing tomorrow?”

“We’re going to hit up Universal Studios. I think that will probably take up our entire day. We may go to a nice restaurant for dinner but we’ll see. What are you planning for tomorrow?”

“It’s Dannie’s parents’ anniversary so they’re having a barbeque at their house. The McElroy’s throw great parties so I’m looking forward to it. It will be an all-day thing.”

“That sounds fun. How long have they been married?”

“25 years!” Therese exclaimed. These people were her parents too. She adored them and was so happy to be celebrating their love.

“Wow. That’s great. You’ll have to tell me all about it on Sunday.” “Will do.”

“I just thought of this…why is your last name not McElroy if they adopted you?” Carol asked.

“We talked about it for a while. I just really wanted to keep a part of my dad with me for as long as I could. Plus, I wasn’t far from turning 18, so they just left it. I’m a McElroy at heart though.” She smiled, revealing her deep dimples.

The pair shared another long stare. Therese began looking nervously around her, at the other passengers. The subway was great for people watching.

Carol yawned. “Are you home yet, baby?” She curled up under the blanket she had with her on the balcony.

Therese grabbed a screenshot when she saw Carol close her eyes for a second.

“Almost there, babe. I’m getting off at my stop now! Don’t fall asleep on me or you will pay for it on Sunday.”

Carol’s eyes shot wide open, “You wouldn’t” narrowing her gaze at Therese.

“Try me, doll face."

“Ooo, I’ve got a feisty one on my hands.” Carol said, smirking at the brunette.

“Not feisty…per say.” Winking at Carol. “Okay, finally home.” She shut and locked her door behind her.

“Good, I’m glad. Now I can go to sleep without being reprimanded.”

“Keep talking back and you’ll get more than reprimanded” She winked once more, so Carol knew she was kidding…kind of.

“Oh, baby, talk dirty to me” Carol said in a mocking tone. They laughed together as Therese fell on her bed. Almost closing her eyes immediately.

“Goodnight, darling.”

“Goodnight, Carol.”

They both ended the call.


	10. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with Carol and Rindy

**6pm. 520 Madison Ave. Unit 1208. -C**

**Need me to bring anything? -T**

**Just yourself, darling. -C**

Therese smiled at the last text. She still had three hours until she needed to leave. She pulled her laptop out and began editing some more photos to pass the time.

\----

Three knocks to Carol’s door was all it took before the blonde ripped the door open and hugged Therese tightly.

They stood there for a little too long to be an acceptable greeting hug, then pulled back to look at each other. “Hi” Carol was wearing tight leggings again. _Oh, she knows what she’s doing to me. I really don’t know who I’m messing with._ She paired it with a loose, white, Tom petty tank top. Her hair was up in a pony tail, something Therese hadn’t seen from her before. She liked it.

“Hey gorgeous. I like the outfit.” She said, looking Carol up and down. After seeing Carol smirk, she was led through the doorway and into a long hallway with 10-foot ceilings.

It smelled like pumpkin mixed with food smells. Therese had chosen to wear loose jeans, a tight white tank top, and a large maroon cardigan.

“Take your shoes off, make yourself at home. Dinner will be another 10 minutes. Rindy is unpacking but will be out in a minute.” Carol walked toward the food to stir a few pots and check the oven, bending over as she did so.

_I’m in way over my head with this one. Is she sticking her ass up on purpose?_ Just then, Carol looked over her shoulder at a flushed Therese.

_Yep. Fully on purpose. She’s going to be the death of me._

“Wine?” Carol grabbed a bottle of Moscato out of the fridge. “Yeah sure. Thanks” She then reached up into a high cabinet for the glasses, her shirt riding up in the process. Therese pulled her eyes away, reluctantly.

She began slowly walking around the open space. Taking in the plush white couch, clear coffee table, the charcoal gray fluffy rug. She noticed the all-white marble fireplace with a large flat screen above it. The floors were a dark hard wood. She walked toward the fireplace to look at the photos on the mantle, noticing a few baby pictures of Rindy and one that she assumed was Carol. She felt strong arms circle her waist and produce a glass of wine. Therese leaned into the embrace and felt a small peck on side of her neck.

Just then, they heard Rindy exit her bedroom and they quickly unwound themselves from each other.

“Mom, is it time to eat yet? Oh, hi.” Rindy was thrown off when she saw the brunette in her living room.

“Rin, this is Therese. Therese, Rindy.”

“Hi Rindy, nice to finally meet you.” Reaching her hand out to the young girl.

“Nice to meet you! My mom said you’re a photographer, right?” Carol left her two girls to talk as she went to prepare the table. The pair sat on the couch at a comfortable distance for the both of them.

“Yeah, I mostly shoot for bands and solo artists. I own a studio in Brooklyn. Your mom said you’ve been developing an interest in photography?”

“Yes! I joined yearbook this year and they let me run around taking pictures of things all period long. I’m trying to get better at the ‘people’ shots though. Those are hard.”

Laughing, “Yes, I struggled with the same thing. But once you realize the best pictures are the candid ones, you will get a little more brave.” Therese assured her

Carol stood at the bar, watching her daughter interact with Therese. It was a sight she could get used to.

“Okay, dinner’s ready, you two!”

They all made their way to the table, Carol at the head of the table and the other two on either side of her.

Conversation was flowing nicely, to Therese’s relief. She was nervous about meeting Rindy. If Rindy didn’t like her, Carol would not want to keep her in her life. Rindy is the number one priority and Therese understood that.

“Oh, Mom, I need you to drop my tennis skirt at the drycleaners this week, if you can.”

“What did you do to it now?!”

“I…uh…I spilled soda on it last week when I went to the movies.” Rindy turned red, knowing her mother was angry.

“Rindy, again?! How many times do I have to tell you to bring an extra set of clothes for when you leave practice? Just leave it by my keys tonight so I remember to take it.” Carol grabbed the bridge of her nose while talking to her daughter.

“Also…” Rindy waited for Carol to look back up. “I have a tournament. This Saturday.” Grimacing, not ready for her mom to yell at her for not telling her until now.

“Nerinda, we have got to work on your management skills. Where is it?”

“It’s in Jersey. It’ll only take two hours to get there and I only play for about an hour.”

“Okay. Is your father going?” Therese shivered at the mention of Carol’s ex-husband.

“That’s the other thing…he can’t go so I need you to take me and I need to stay here that night. Dad has some business trip. Susan offered to take me but you know I’d rather die than spend two hours in the car with her alone!” They all three laughed at Rindy’s tone.

“Okay fine. Just come her on Friday and you can stay the weekend.” Carol was a little disappointed she wouldn’t get to have alone time with Therese during her kid-free weekend, but any extra time with Rindy is too special to pass up.

She gave Therese a warm, sympathetic smile, knowing she was thinking the exact same thing.

\----

After dinner, Rindy left for Harge’s. Leaving Carol and Therese to clean the kitchen, refill their wine glasses, and get cozy on the couch.

“Well, I was hoping to spend next weekend with you, but it looks like I’ll be going to New Jersey to watch sweaty high schoolers play tennis.” Carol said, rolling her eyes.

Therese laughed at the gesture, “It’s alright, babe. We’ll survive.” Carol leaned over to finally capture Therese’s lips after too many days apart. The kiss turned sloppy very quickly. Wine glasses were discarded on the table and their hands were in each other’s hair.

They finally pulled away after about 10 minutes, resting their foreheads against one another.

“I thought maybe we could…take a bath? I want to relax after the long weekend I’ve had but I don’t want to let you go.” Therese shook her head and allowed herself to be led to the master suite. Carol had a king-size bed with a puffy, white duvet and about a hundred pillows. The large room smelled like pumpkin, again. The bathroom had white, marble, tile floors. A large walk in shower and a walk-in closet that was filled with suits Therese knew she’d be inspecting later on. She watched Carol lean over and begin filling the huge clawfoot tub with hot water. She threw in a few squirts of some kind of liquid that smelled like lavender.

While the tub was filling up, Carol swayed over to Therese, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a passionate kiss.

“I missed you” she began kissing down the brunette’s neck, pulling her cardigan off, letting it fall to the floor.

“I missed you too, Carol.” She felt her tank top being yanked from her pants and thrown behind the blonde. The taller woman then lifted her arms in the air, taking her tank top with her. Leaving her in nothing but tight leggings. Therese’s mouth began to water.

“Stop staring, Belivet” Carol winked at her and closed her mouth for her.

They quickly undressed themselves further and eased into the water. Carol against the back of the tub, Therese in between her legs.

“How was the anniversary party yesterday?” Carol asked while rubbing up and down Therese’s arm with one hand, sipping her wine with the other.

“It was great! I ate too much and saw some old family friends.” She said laughing. “Did you and Rindy bond like you’d hoped?”

“We did actually.” Carol smiled, remembering the weekend with her daughter. “She confessed that she has a boyfriend. It’s new but she really likes him. His name is Josh, he plays soccer, and he’s ‘ _so freakin hot!_ ’” she said with air quotes, impersonating Rindy.

Therese laughed and leaned further back into Carol, resting her head on her chest.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, darling. Or I’ll have to…what was it? ‘More than reprimand’ you?”

“But I’m so comfortable.” She said, closing her eyes, nuzzling into Carol even more. Carol reached down to grab the younger woman’s breasts in her hands, kneading them slowly.

“Wake up or I can make this a lot more painful.”

Therese shot her eyes up to Carol, “You wouldn’t” just as she finished speaking, the blonde squeezed her breasts so hard, it caused her to yelp.

“Okay, okay! I won’t fall asleep if you…” she grabbed Carol’s hand and directed it to her warm center.

The older woman hummed when she felt it. She began moving two fingers up and down her lover’s cunt. Slowly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t indulge you the other night on the phone, baby. Would you like me to right now?”

Therese held back a moan and whispered a soft, “yes”

“Mmm, you’re so needy tonight, baby. It’s only been a few days since I’ve had my mouth on you. Do you remember that? When I licked you and sucked you? And when you came in my mouth?” Carol’s words were hot against Therese’s hear. She was struggling to stay still with fingers still teasing her cunt.

“Do you remember later that night, when I made you scream? What did you like more? Me fucking you with my fingers or riding my face?” Therese finally let a moan fall from her lips. She was writing under Carol’s hands, desperate for more pressure.

“Answer me, baby.” She said, pulling her fingers away from her lover.

“Mmm! Ah, Carol. I…all of it. I love everything you do to me.” She must have given the right answer because she felt Carol’s fingers return and continue their slow movements.

“Carol, please.” She needed more and she could tell Carol was going to make her beg.

“Please, what, baby?”

Unable to form full sentences, “Please. I need…inside…ugh…please, Carol!!” Carol plunged two fingers deep inside the brunette. Causing her to scream out and arch her back. Carol began pumping in and out of her lover, water spilling over the edges of the bathtub.

“Keep talking” Therese begged.

“Ah, you liked that? Well, I can’t wait to get you out of this water so I can fuck you properly. I want to lay you down, spread your legs, and use my fingertips to feel how wet I make you. Then I want to lean in to taste you. Oh, baby, you taste so good, I’m missing your taste in my mouth.” Therese started to breathe quicker and move her hips a little more. Carol knew she was close. “Then I’m going to take my tongue and run it up to your throbbing clit before I take it into my mouth and suck” That was it. That’s all it took for Therese to crumble underneath her.

Laying in the aftermath of her orgasm, Therese asked, “Carol, do you want me to talk like that to you? I’ve never done that before…”

Kissing her temple, “oh honey, I never want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. If you would like to try it, I would like that very much. But I don’t need that during sex. It just adds an extra layer of pleasure.” She kissed Therese’s temple once more, “And it _clearly_ works on you.”

Therese rolled her eyes and giggled. She flipped over to look into Carol’s eyes. Her hair was still in a ponytail but a few strands had fallen into her face and were stick with water and sweat. 

“Okay, babe. Get out of this tub so I can do all the things you were just describing.” She winked at the blonde.

“Yes ma’am!” She pulled Therese from the water and dried herself before sitting on the edge of the tub and drying the younger woman’s body.

They stumbled over to the bed while wrapped in another passionate kiss. Therese had an idea.

She pushed Carol on to the bed and scooted her up to the pillows. (after she threw about 98 pillows off the bed to make room) “Stay here.” Therese ran back into the bathroom, remembering seeing a robe on the back of the door. She pulled the tie from the robe and brought it back over to Carol. Straddling Carol’s stomach, she pulled her arms above her head and tied them together with the fabric. “Don’t move your arms or you’ll face that punishment I mentioned the other day.” She said in a sultry tone that caused Carol’s hips to buck a little.  “And stop wiggling or you will DEFINITELY face punishment.”

Carol’s skin was on fire. She didn’t know what this punishment entailed but she was very eager to find out.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do. You have been in charge during every sexual encounter we’ve had so far. Now it’s my turn.” Therese smiled wickedly down at her lover. She began rocking her hips against Carol’s stomach, undoubtedly spreading her wetness across the toned abs.

She stopped her movements and reached her hand down to her own wet center, gathering up wetness left over from her previous orgasm. She slowly brought her hands up to Carol’s waiting lips and shoved them into her mouth. Eyes growing dark when the blonde eagerly accepted them and sucked them around her tongue. Therese was mesmerized by the sight in front of her but was able to finally pull her hand away.

She started kissing down Carol’s body. She sucked one of her nipples into her mouth and tugged the other one with her hand, then switched. She continued down Carol’s stomach, tasting herself as she went further.

Spreading Carol’s legs was probably her favorite things to do. Seeing Carol this open and ready for her was the most intoxicating thing ever. She kissed up her thighs and gently blew on her cunt. Carol’s hips bucked violently.

“Calm down baby. Control yourself, or it will only get worse.” Carol just shook her head in response.

Therese continued her journey, finally licking up Carol’s cunt. She was soaked. Knowing she was responsible for getting Carol like this sent her spinning. Unable to resist, she dove tongue first into Carol. Spreading her lips open with her fingers and sucking every but of her lover into her mouth. Carol was writhing beneath her, hips bucking to meet Therese’s thrusts with her tongue, arms flying up before she remembered she was told to keep them pinned to the bed. 

Then, Therese sunk two fingers deep into Carol’s depths. She cried out so loud, she probably woke the neighbors. Therese was relentless, pumping in and out quickly while sucking Carol’s throbbing clit into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it as she did so.

“Oh fuck, baby. I’m so close.”

And with that, Therese stopped. She pulled her mouth away and removed her hands, sitting up on the backs of her legs.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s not so nice, is it?” Therese smirked at her.

“What are you talking about Therese? Oh my god, please do that again!”

“Our first date. You got me so close to coming all over your thigh, then you just left.” Those words almost made Carol cum, herself.

“I'm sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. But please!! If you let me cum now I will make you cum a thousand more times tonight! Please”

Therese smirked again. “Mmm, I like hearing you beg. Tell me what you want, baby.”

“Agh. I want your mouth on me.” Carol was sweating.

“Yeah? Where do you want it?” Therese’s lips were hovering over Carol’s.

Carol leaned up to kiss the brunette, tasting her own juices. She turned her head to whisper in Therese’s ear. “I want your mouth on my cunt. I want you to slide your fingers back into my dripping pussy and suck on my clit until I cum _hard_ in your mouth. Is that clear?”

_How does she take back the control that easily?! Yes ma’am, I’ll do whatever you say._

Therese smiled wide then dove back into Carol’s pussy, never stopping until she felt the warm wet liquid hit her face. Carol had thrown her head back, eyes closed, back arched, and screamed Therese’s name.

She continued slowly licking Carol until she was sure she was recovered. She crawled back up Carol’s body, untying her hands and pulling the covers around them. Letting the taller woman wrap herself around her and drift off to sleep.


	11. Tennis Tournament

Therese breezed into Carol’s office on Friday morning. They had barely seen each other this week. Carol didn’t need her in the office as she was wrapping up everything on the case, before the trial started next week. Therese also had some artist shoots that booked last minute, so she was able to keep herself busy.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Therese, said setting a piping hot cup of coffee on her desk. “Mocha latte, extra foam.”

“Darling, you spoil me.” Carol looked up from her computer long enough to wink at the brunette.

“You wanted to see me? I thought you were busy with trial stuff today.” Therese took a seat on her new favorite couch. It was the couch where she first touched Carol.

“I thought I was, but I actually have more free time than I thought. I wanted to give you a little more info before we hit the ground running on Monday…and I wanted to see your face.” She smiled widely at Therese. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy this week. But, at least I got everything done in time!”

“Never apologize for having to work, I understand.”

“Mmm, you’ll regret that statement at a later date.” She finally made her way over to join Therese on the couch. “Okay, so. Monday. You know where the court house is?”

“Yes. 42nd street, right?”

“Yes. You should arrive at around 10am. Go to the clerk office and tell Shelly you’re with CTA and you need a badge. She’ll take care of you and point you in the right direction. When you get into the court room, just grab a seat on the end of one of the rows, close to where the jurors are. That way you can get close shots of the witnesses and you won’t have many shots with jurors faces. Less work for you, later on. Since you’ll need to blur them out.”

Therese shook her head and wrote down Shelly’s name and the time in her calendar event.

“Then your day will be kind of boring. I’m sorry. You really only need a few shots of me and the president of Holloway. Then, like I said, just get a couple shots of each witness and a couple shots of each piece of evidence that is shown. Maybe bring a notepad or something to write down names and the name of the evidence. Like…”exhibit A”. Just so they’ll be labeled correctly when you send them to me.”

“Got it. Anything else?” Therese said after writing some more notes in her phone.

“I think that’s it. If I think of anything else I’ll let you know. And if you have any questions for me, shoot me a text. We will have recesses each day but I may not be able to see you or eat lunch with you. Some days I will but maybe not the first day or two. Hopefully it won’t go longer than a week. But, the judge we have is very unpredictable.” Carol said, rolling her eyes.

Laughing “That’s okay! I actually have a friend that is a victim advocate down there, so I can eat with her if you’re too busy!”

“That’s great. I won’t be worried about you then” She winked at Therese again.

_How does she always get me so hot with just a wink? I swear, I’m not going to survive this trial._

“So, I have pretty much the whole day free. Do you want to do something?” Carol asked as she began cleaning up her desk.

“Sure. Do you mind if we run by the studio really quick? I actually have to do a few things then we can go wherever your little heart desires.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Carol.

\----

The pair arrived at the studio half an hour later.

“Is Dannie out today?” noticing the front desk was empty and all the lights were off when they walked in.

“Oh, yeah. He and his wife, Louise , had a meeting with their lawyer about the adoption. I told him to just spend the day with her. They are supposed to finalize the adoption next week!”

“That’s great! Are they celebrating?”

“Yes. I’d love for you to be my date, if you’re free. It’s just hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie dogs, and cake! Oh…also…it’s my birthday that day. We’re doing a double celebration…”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me? What day is it?” 

“Friday” Therese gave a weak smile, knowing she had the past three weeks to tell Carol about her birthday.

“Therese! I’m so mad at you. You should’ve told me!” playfully punching her in the arm. 

Therese came up, wrapping Carol in a kiss. “You’re not mad at me. I just don’t care about my birthday that much.” Carol remembered what happened on Therese’s 13th birthday. That day is just an anniversary of the incident. She tried to shake it from her mind before she brought Therese’s mood down.

“Okay, I will be your date, but Saturday I am doing something special for you! No ifs ands or buts about it!"

Therese gave her a salute, “Yes ma’am!”

“Mmm, I like it when you call me that.” Carol squeezed her ass in her hands.

“I bet you do. Now come on, sit with me while I send off these edits.”

Carol relaxed on the green couch in Therese’s small office. Checking her phone, mindlessly scrolling through her social media feeds. Eventually, her eyes got heavy and she rested her head on the arm of the couch.

Twenty minutes later, Therese finally looked up from her computer screen and saw the blonde asleep, with her legs pulled up under her. Knowing Carol hadn’t gotten much sleep that week, she pulled the blanket she had on the back of the couch and draped it over the lanky woman. She cracked the door and headed to the large studio space at the end of the hall.

She recently got an offer to shoot for a start up clothing company. They didn’t have the budget for models so they asked if she could just shoot the clothes and shoes in front of a white backdrop. Therese laid a few pieces on the ground and began shooting.

She folded them in weird ways to showcase some of the patterns. She even took a few “artsy” shots in case the company wanted them for promo.

She had been shooting for a while before she noticed the blonde leaning in the doorway. “You have a habit of starring, do you know that?”

“I stare at the things I like.” She stalked her way over to the brunette, to look at what she was taking photos of. “These are cool. I like the black shirt over there.”

Sparking an idea in her brain, “Want to be my model?” Therese said.

“Definitely not. I just woke up from a nap, I’m sure I look awful.”

“First of all, you look beautiful, as always. Second of all, I won’t put your face in them! You get final approval. This company has no money for models and these flat t-shirts are just sad. They need some curves.” She said, grabbing Carol’s breast.

She swatted the younger woman’s hand away and agreed. “Okay, as long as I get final approval! What do you want me in first?”

“Let’s do that black shirt you like, those ripped jeans, and the light pink loafers.” Carol changed right there, giving Therese a nice view of her backside in a lacey red thong.

“Scandalous.” Winking at the blonde.

They finally got the lighting setup to work with Carol’s pale skin tone and Therese got plenty of shots.

“Okay, babe, you can change and I’ll send these to you after I pick the best ones and edit them. Then you can choose which few you like the most.” Moving her camera to show Carol a shot, “I think I’ll keep this one for myself” It was a shot of Carol while she was changing. Wearing nothing but a black bra and her red thong.

“How dare you!” Carol said, joking. She grabbed the camera and stared at herself for a moment. Going silent.

“What’s wrong, Carol? I’m sorry, I’ll delete it. I was just messing around…”

“No, baby that’s not it. I just…I’ve never liked pictures of my body but this one…this one I like. How did you do that?” Carol looked at her with water surfacing to her eyes.

Therese set the camera down, pulling Carol into her arms. “Carol, I just pushed the trigger, you are the entirety of that photo. You are so breathtaking, I don’t know why you don’t believe it sometimes”

“I do when it comes from you.” She rested her head on the younger woman’s chest and sighed.

Therese kissed the top of her head, something she rarely gets to do. Only when they are in bed or when Carol curls into her like this. “Come on, let’s go get some lunch.”

\----

They sat across from each other at Therese’s favorite deli in Brooklyn, just down the street from Snapped.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Carol asked before biting into her pickle.

“Yes, but you aren’t. You have Rindy’s tournament.” Therese reminded her.

“I know, I didn’t forget. What kind of mother do you take me for?” smirking at her lover. “I was wondering if you’d like to go with us?”

“Oh, Carol, I wouldn’t want to impose. That’s your time with her. I don’t think she’d like me tagging along.”

“Darling, it was her idea. She really liked you and thought you could keep me company while she plays.” Therese was taken back by the statement. She was so glad to hear the teenager liked her. It had been weighing on her mind since Sunday if Rindy approved of her or not.

“Well then, I’d love to accompany you to a tennis tournament.” Laughing as she smiled at Carol.

\----

They loaded the car with Rindy’s tennis bag, a few snacks, and a change of clothes each of them, in case they decided to stay the night in Jersey.

The ride was long but Rindy had her headphones in and Carol and Therese listened to a podcast the whole way there. Therese wanted to reach over multiple times to grab Carol’s hand but wasn’t sure if she wanted to show affection in front of Rindy just yet. She wasn’t even sure if she explained their relationship to Rindy yet. Hell, Therese wasn’t even sure if she knew what their relationship was yet.

_Are we girlfriends? Are we just hooking up? No, because we go on dates and she introduced me to her kid. What are we? Should I ask or let her tell me when she’s ready? I consider us girlfriends but she has Rindy to think about. Maybe she doesn’t want something serious yet. Well, that brings me back to the fact that she introduced me to Rindy after only a week! That has to mean its serious right? She’s not seeing anyone else, I know that._

“What are you thinking? You look like your mind is running a mile a minute.” Carol said, stopping Therese from continuing to think herself into a migraine.

“Oh, nothing.” Noticing the warning look Carol gave her, “It can wait until later.”

Just then, the blonde reached over and grabbed Therese’s hand. Resting it on her leg. Therese smiled like a school girl.

\----

When they arrived at the tournament, Rindy ran off to meet up with the rest of her team. Carol and Therese made their way to the concession stand to grab a couple drinks and hot dogs before taking their seats in the bleachers.

Rindy wouldn’t be playing for at least half an hour. Therese relaxed, watching the players warm up, wishing she had tried out for tennis in high school. But, then again, she didn’t really have the money to pay for the required equipment or uniform.

“So, what were you thinking earlier? In the car.” Carol asked, staring out at the courts.

“It’s stupid really.”

“Tell me, darling.”

“Well, at first, I was wondering if you wanted to show physical affection in front of Rindy yet, but you answered my question when you grabbed my hand. Then, that sent my mind down a rabbit hole wondering…what…what we are.”

Carol looked Therese directly in the eyes, it almost burned. “What do you mean, ‘what we are’?”

“You know...is this a casual thing? Are we just hanging out? Are we girlfriends? I’m just not sure.”

Carol laughed, which Therese didn’t quite understand. “Therese. You just rode two hours with me to my daughter’s tennis tournament. I’m going with you to your, basically, brother’s adoption party next week. No, this isn’t casual!”

Therese blushed. “So, what are you saying, Carol? Are you my girlfriend?” smirking at the older woman. 

“YES! And I’m honestly offended you didn’t think so. You weren’t going to other women’s kid’s tennis matches, were you?!”

They shared a laugh, “No, Carol. Rindy is the only kid I’d sit through a tennis match for.”

\----

After the tournament, the three of them loaded back into Carol’s Audi and began their long drive home. Rindy fell asleep about 30 minutes in, leaving the couple to talk quietly.

Carol spoke up first, “What’s your favorite song?”

“What?” Thrown off by the randomness of the question.

“What’s your favorite song? I want to know your favorite things.”

“My favorite song is ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac. What’s yours?” Smiling back at Carol.

“Umm, I’d have to say ‘American Girl’ by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.”

“Hmm, that explains the tank top the other night. We make a good pair! Why that song?”  

“I used to listen to it, growing up. I don’t know, it reminded me that life was bound to get better. Plus, it makes me want to dance around in my underwear.” Carol said, squeezing her hand. “Favorite food?”

“Now, that’s a hard one…Maybe pasta? Really any kind. Yours?” Therese assumed it would be something fancy that she had never heard of.

“Hot dogs” Carol smiled widely at Therese.

“Hot dogs?? Carol you’ve eaten at five-star restaurants and your favorite food is hotdogs?” She stared, eyes wide.

“Yes! My dad and I used to go to baseball games all the time and I would always get a hot dog. It was my favorite thing. Well, maybe being with my dad was my favorite thing. But I just associate hot dogs with that time of my life. Plus, you can find hotdogs anywhere. It’s not some outrageous meal I can only find in Paris. I’m practical.”

“That makes sense. Well, I love hot dogs so, I’d be happy to eat shitty hot dogs with you anytime.” She brought Carol’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles a few times.

“Good. Cause I plan on keeping you around and that’s my go-to when Rindy’s not home.” Carol said.

“How you have the body you do and eat like that, I will never now.” Therese let her eyes rake over Carol’s tones legs that were visible from her shorts.

“Favorite movie?”

“Umm, I don’t know. Titanic I guess. What’s yours?”

“Good choice. Mine is Dirty Dancing, which is why I made you watch it that first time you came over.” Carol smiled at the memory. Then, they both shared a look when they remembered the hallway incident.

\----

They arrived at Carol’s house two hours later. They had agreed on Therese staying the night since it was already so late. Carol grabbed her bags and began walking inside. Rindy and Therese were still in the garage, gathering the rest of their things.

“She’s lying you know.” Rindy said, after not having said a word the entire car ride.

“What?”

“She’s lying. About her favorite movie. It’s actually The Goonies. She’s just too embarrassed to admit that.”

Therese laughed. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Totally. I catch her watching it all the time! She says it was one of the first movies she remembers watching, as a kid.”

“Good to know. Thanks.” They walked into the kitchen to join Carol. “I wasn’t a tennis fan before but it’s growing on me.” She said, playfully punching Rindy in the shoulder.

“Good, maybe you can come sit at my matches instead of my dad and Susan, who complains the entire time.” Rindy rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’m beat. I’m going to bed. Thanks for coming with me today, guys.”

“Night Rindy. Thanks for inviting me.”

“Goodnight, Rin” Carol said, kissing Rindy’s forehead.

Carol turned to Therese, “Alright, you ready for bed, girlfriend?” She winked at the brunette.

Smiling at the term, “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our ladies are getting serious! Let me know what you think!!


	12. Baby, Let The Games Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW! I don't even know. Hope you enjoy!

The trial was in full swing by Monday afternoon. Therese had never seen anything like it. The jurors all looked like they would rather be dead. The ex VP of the company just _looked_ guilty. She could tell. The evidence that was being shown was pretty clear. It was very interesting to watch the trail unfold. She had watched things like this on television but never in person. It’s not as exciting or glamourous as one would think.

Therese was having trouble remembering the task at hand when all she could focus on was Carol’s ass in the tight dress pants she was wearing. Or how good she looked in her blazer. Or how her hands moved as she addressed the jurors. She wanted to take thousands of photos of Carol but the clicking of her camera would be way too obvious. Better luck focusing tomorrow.

\----

The next day, Carol _did_ have time for lunch with Therese. They just went to the cafeteria on site and shared a sandwich.

“My job is hard but it’s even harder when I turn around and you’re giving me sex eyes across the room.” Carol said in a whisper, across the table.

“Me?! You’re the one parading around in those tight pants you call ‘professional’!” Therese bit back.

Carol laughed. “How long has it been since we’ve had sex? Was it last Sunday?”  

“Yes. After dinner with Rindy. Too long ago.” “I’m sorry, baby. I’ve just been so busy. Then we fell right asleep after getting home from the tennis tournament.”

 _Home_. Therese loved how that sentence sounded, coming out of Carol’s mouth. It made her feel a part of something. A part of Carol’s family unit. She loved it. She hoped it would happen someday.

“Carol, it’s fine. I’m not a dog in heat. I just…like looking at you is all.” She smirked.

“Come home with me when we break for the day?”

“I’d love to.”

\----

They barely made it up to the 12th floor before they started trying to rip each other’s clothes off.

They burst through Carol’s apartment door, shedding clothing as they went. When they finally made it to Carol’s bedroom, Therese guided her over to the side of the bed, making her sit on the edge of the bed. She leaned over her and said, “What do you want?”

Carol kissed hard, replying, “On your knees, baby.”

The brunette sunk to the floor and let her hands travel up Carol’s calves. When she got to her thighs, she slowly spread the blonde’s legs wide open, pulling her closer to the edge of the bed. Therese began kissing up her left leg, lazily. Letting her tongue taste the skin every now and then. Then she switched to the right leg to copy her movements.

She wrapped her arms around Carol’s thighs to keep her in place and began kissing closer and closer to Carol’s center. She could see how swollen and wet she was. It made her mouth water.

“Please, baby” Carol begged above her, grabbing the back of Therese’s head to push her forward.

“Be patient. I’m gonna give you what you want, don’t worry.” Therese assured her and continued her descent. She dipped her head even further and gave Carol one slow lick up her slit.

Carol’s hips bucked forward but the younger woman pulled away again. “Therese, I swear to god, if you tease me right now I will make it so much worse for you.” Carol’s voice was stern but still filled with lust.

“Mmm, don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She knew Carol always ended up giving her what she wanted.

She dove deeper and began licking and sucking at Carol’s wet cunt. She swirled her tongue around her clit and sucked it into her mouth. Then, releasing the sensitive nub, she let her tongue drift down to tease at Carol’s entrance. She felt the blonde scoot forward a little bit, needing the hot tongue inside of her. Therese let her have it. She brought her finger around to rub Carol’s clit while she fucked her with her tongue.

“Baby.” Carol was struggling to breathe. “I…need…agh. I need your fingers inside of me. Please!” _Your wish is my command, my dear._

Therese switched her movements. Her tongue assaulting Carol’s clit and her fingers deep inside her dripping cunt. By this point, Carol had laid back on the bed, one hand on her left breast, the other in Therese’s hair.

Just as she curled her fingers to hit the sweet spot, Carol screamed and doubled over, still rocking her hips into Therese’s tongue.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, fuck.” Carol’s eyes were squinted shut and her mouth hung wide open. She rocked into Therese, coming all over her lover’s hand and her duvet. She allowed Therese to continue licking for another minute before she fell back on to the bed, arms stretched out above her. “Oh my god. I don’t think I’ve ever cum that hard in my life. Jesus, that was amazing.” Therese crawled up on to the bed to lay next to the spent blonde and just giggled slightly.

“Don’t start laughing baby, you have no idea what’s coming.” Carol said with an annoyed look on her face.

“Hopefully me!” Therese joked.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” With that, Carol stood up and walked into her closet on the other end of the suite, closing the door.

When Therese heard the door click open, she sat up and her jaw dropped. Carol stood there completely naked except for the red strap on hanging between her legs. She felt herself get completely wet just from looking at her.

“Is this okay, Therese?” Carol had a serious look on her face. She liked to make sex fun but she never wanted to hurt Therese or do anything she wasn’t comfortable with. Unable to speak, the younger woman just nodded her head, eyes wide.

“Now who’s staring?” Carol sauntered over to the bed, grabbed the lube from the bedside table and began stroking the cock up and down. All Therese could do was watch and feel her wetness dripping down her thighs.

“Lay down.” Carol demanded. Therese quickly jumped over to lay her head down on the pillows and stare up at the goddess coming into view.

Carol leaned into Therese just enough so she could feel the dildo against her cunt. They began kissing, slowly. Carol was definitely setting the pace and would not relinquish control anytime soon.

_I think I could get used to this Carol._

Therese began grinding her hips against the large object between her legs, desperate for any type of friction. Carol’s breath hitched as every time she moved, it would rub against her still sensitive clit.

“You alright there? You haven’t even fucked me yet and you’re already breathing heavy.” Therese threw her a sly smile.

“My, you’ve got a mouth on you. Well…I guess I knew that” winking at the younger woman. “You really want me to fuck you, baby?” Carol emphasized every word with a hard thrust of her hips.

“Ahh, yes. Please I want it.”

“And what is it that you want, Therese?”

Feeling the red cock continuously hit her clit but not in a way that offered any kind of release, “Ah! Ugh, Carol. I want you to fuck me. I want to feel your cock inside of me. Please!” Just then, Carol eased the dildo into her entrance, giving her a chance to adjust. She slowly pulled it back out then pushed it in again, a little farther this time. Therese’s eyes slammed shut and her face looked as if she was in pain.

“Are you okay, baby? Can you take this?”

“Yes. It’s perfect, you can go faster.”

Carol began working up a rhythm, pulling out and pushing back into Therese. “Oh, baby you look so sexy right now. Letting me fuck you like this. You know, I’ve pictured this before.” She leaned down to whisper directly in Therese’s ear. “I even touched myself while I thought about it.”

“Fuck! Carol, keep talking. I’m so close!” Carol pulled out of her, causing her to cry out. Carol stood, took the strap on off and walked into the bathroom. “What the fuck are you doing, Carol?!”

“You think it’s funny to tease me. I think it’s funny too” She winked at Therese and ran the dildo under the water in the sink.

“Carolyn, I _will_ finish myself if you don’t come over here and make me cum!”

“Ooo, full name. Darling, I’m not coming back to bed. You’re free to take care of yourself.” She waved Therese off as if they were talking about what to get at the grocery store.

The brunette flung herself back on the bed, grabbing her breast and allowing her fingers to dance across her clit. She almost closed her eyes but decided to stare at the naked blonde’s profile instead. She rubbed against herself for what felt like 5 whole minutes. Nothing.

_I was milliseconds from coming earlier, now I can’t even get close?!?_

She noticed Carol had put on a white fluffy robe. _Great, now she’s covering her body. I’m never going to get there._ She rubbed her clit for a few more seconds then decided to try another tactic.

She heard Carol rummaging around in the kitchen so she walked in, still naked.

“Need any help?” Therese asked from the other side of the bar.

Eyes wide, not expecting Therese to still be naked or to even have followed her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m seeing if you need help. You gonna make dinner?” She came up right in front of Carol.

“Y-yeah. Is veggie pasta okay?”

“Perfect.” Therese began milling around the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the bar while drinking it.

“Darling, the game is over. Why don’t you put some clothes on?”

“I'm fine, actually. Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Carol was clearly trying not to make eye contact with Therese or her body. “Nope. Fine by me.”

She cooked the entire meal with Therese staring at her, stark naked.

“You should get dressed before eating. Wouldn’t want you to drop hot pasta on your bare skin.” She hadn’t noticed Therese come up right behind her.

The younger woman whispered in her ear. “Yeah? Is that the only reason I should get dressed? Or am I making you _hot_?”

“N-no. I’m fine. Just worried about you, darling.” Carol still hadn’t made eye contact.

“Turn around babe.” She slowly forced Carol to turn around. “Look at me.” Staring into each other’s eyes, Therese began talking quietly and let her hands travel around her own body. “You know, I’ve touched myself thinking about fucking you too. You want to hear about it?” Not waiting for Carol to answer, letting her hand drop between her legs, “I touched myself that first day you came to the studio. I locked myself in my office, took off my tight pants and my panties that were _soaked_. Then, I threw my legs up on my desk and leaned back in the chair. I thought about my hands on your body. My lips on your neck and your breasts. I thought about circling my tongue around your nipples until they got hard for me. I let my hand travel down to my dripping. Wet. Cunt. And imagined that it was your hand. Your fingers, feeling how wet you make me.” Therese noticed Carol was completely flushed now. Staring at her hand. She pulled her fingers away and swiped them across Carol’s lips.

“Do you like the way I taste, Carol?” She pushed her fingers past Carol’s closed lips. Enjoying the moan she heard and the warm tongue sucking her juices off. Carol finally let her hand reach out between Therese’s legs. Causing the younger woman to gasp. She pushed her against the fridge and plunged two fingers into her, never letting up until she felt the brunette shake and the warm liquid hit her palm.

Therese was spent. She let her head hit the fridge and gave Carol a hazy smile.

“Okay. You win.” Carol said. She kissed Therese and went to wash her hands before eating dinner.


	13. Blissful Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therese's birthday weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys! I didn't love this chapter and tried to make it better but struggled. So, I figured I'd go ahead and post! The next one should be up soon!!

The adoption/birthday party was in full swing when Carol arrived. She searched the room for Therese but was immediately pulled into a hug from Dannie.   
  
“Carol! So good to see you again! Thanks for coming. T is around here somewhere. Come on, I want you to meet my wife.” Dannie led her to the backyard. “Louise, this is Carol. T’s girl” Carol liked the sound of that.

Louise wrapped her in a tight hug, “It is so nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m assuming the adoption went well?”   
  
Louise looked as if she was about to cry, “Yes. It went very well. Now Tavin is officially ours…even though he’s been ours for about a year now. We’ve been fostering him.”  
  
“Oh, that’s great! I’m so happy for you two. Thank you for having me today, I know this is a family thing.”   
  
“Oh nonsense. Any friend of T’s is a friend of ours!” Louise assured her. 

Carol felt a small hand on her back. She turned to see Therese smiling up at her. “Hi”   
  
“Hi.” Therese leaned up for a kiss.

“Happy birthday, baby”   
  
Therese blushed. “So, you’ve met Louise. Oh, you need to meet Tavin. He’s over by the pool, come on.” Therese pulled Carol by the hand toward the nine-year-old boy. He was very tan with dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. “Tav, this is Carol.”   
  
Carol leaned down slightly to shake the boy’s hand. “Are you aunt T’s girlfriend?”

The pair laughed. “Yes, I am.” Carol said, proudly.

“You want to watch me do a cannon ball?” Tavin was bouncing up and down.

Carol let out a hearty laugh, “Sure, go ahead!” The young boy took a running start and landed in the center of the swimming pool, causing waves to crash against the sides. She clapped loudly to indicate a job well done.

“Way to go, little T! I’m going to take Carol inside. We’ll see you later.”   
  
Therese led Carol into the spare bedroom at the end of the hall. She closed the door and pulled her into a passionate kiss. “Mmm, I missed you.”  
  
“You saw me a few days ago, sweetheart.” Carol kissed back.

“I know…but I missed you.”

They pulled their lips away but stayed wrapped in each other’s arms. “I brought you a present.”

“Carol, you didn’t have to do that.”  
  
“I wanted to. You are a whopping twenty-four today.” She said in a mocking tone. “That deserves a present.”   
  
Carol fished a small envelope out of her purse, hanging from her shoulder.

Therese opened it and found a simple card with a cartoon picture of a camera on the front. Inside it read, ‘My dearest Therese. This past month has been nothing short of a whirlwind but I am so happy you have come into my life. I’m so lucky to get to share this day with you. I’m lucky to know you. And I am lucky to call you mine. Happy birthday, darling. I hope it is everything you dreamed of. Love, Carol.’

She beamed at the older women. And noticed a small piece of paper in the envelope as well. She pulled it out and saw the name of her favorite shop to buy film and get her cameras repaired. Below it was a long number. She looked at Carol, confused.

“Your cute little camera shop doesn’t do gift cards. So, you have a credit at the store, under that account number. Hopefully it will last you a while.”   
  
Therese was speechless. She had received some great gifts in the past but nothing like this. Carol knew how expensive the upkeep on her old camera was. “This is the most thoughtful gift I have ever been given.” She blinked at Carol, tears filling her eyes. “Thank you. Thank you.” She tucked her head into Carol’s shoulder and let herself be wrapped into a hug.

The taller woman rubbed her back and kissed her temple. “There’s one more thing."  
  
“Hmm”

“I’m taking you somewhere tomorrow morning. It’s a surprise.”

\----

Therese stayed at Carol’s house, packing a bag for ‘a lot of walking’. That’s all the information Carol gave her.

They woke to Carol’s alarm at 6am the next morning. Therese had her leg flung over Carol’s lower half and her head tucked into the crook of her neck.

Shaking the sleeping brunette, “Baby, wake up.” She kissed her forehead. Therese groaned and sunk deeper under the covers, pulling Carol tighter. “Come on. You don’t want to miss your surprise, do you?” She poked her side.

Therese finally rolled onto her back and peeled her eyes open. “Fine. But you better go make me coffee or I’m not going.”

She jumped in the shower while Carol got the coffee ready and poured into travel mugs. Therese emerged wearing leggings and a Yankees shirt.

“Are you a fan?”   
  
“Oh, the shirt? No. I like the sports but not enough to follow any particular team. I just liked the shirt” Therese said, laughing to herself.

Carol took a quick shower as well and they were off.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now or do I have to wait until we arrive?”   
  
“Hmm…I’m not sure. What do I get if I tell you early?” Carol tapped her chin, while she drove.

“My gratitude and me NOT asking you a million questions on the way.”   
  
Carol laughed. “Okay. Fair enough. We are going camping! It’s about an hour away.”

Therese’s eyes went wide, not unnoticed by the older woman. “What? What’s so bad about camping?”  
  
“Nothing! I love it. I went a couple times with the McElroy’s when I was younger. You just…don’t seem like the camping type.”

“I’ll have you know I used to go camping with my father, back in the day. I can start a fire, pitch a tent, and even fish!” Carol bragged.

“My, look at you! Well then, I’m looking forward to it.”

\----

“Here, I brought stuff for s’mores.” Carol said, handing Therese a bag of marshmallows while sitting next to her on a log, in front of the fire.

The sun had gone down and the pair had roasted hotdogs for dinner.

“I love s’mores! Well…I really just love burnt marshmallows.”

They sat quietly, holding their sticks over the fire.

“When I told Rindy we were coming up here, she was so jealous.” Carol laughed remembering Rindy’s puppy dog eyes.

“Why don’t you have her come up tomorrow? Monday is a holiday. She’s out of school, right?”

Carol just stared at the brunette. “What? That’s not why I…would you really want her to join us?”   
  
“Carol, of course. I love Rindy and I think she would have fun!”   
  
She took out her phone and immediately FaceTimed Rindy.

“Rin, you don’t have anything going tomorrow, do you?”

“No. Why?”  
  
Therese jumped in, “Do you want to come join us at the campground?”  
  
Rindy’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, really?? Therese, you don’t mind? Mom said it was your birthday.”  
  
“Of course I don’t mind! You think you can wake up early enough to drive up here so we can go on a hike? Your mom tried to force me on one when we got here but I refused, pulling birthday rights and all.”  
  
Rindy laughed, “Yeah, she somehow thinks fitness is necessary. I don’t know.” She rolled her eyes jokingly.

“Okay, Rin, call me when you leave. I’ll track you on my phone to make sure you’re safe.”  
  
“Okay mom! I’m so excited! Can I bring Jessica?”  
  
“Sure. Bring a tent and some sleeping bags for the two of you.”   
  
Therese spoke up once more. “Bring a swimsuit! I think there’s some water along the hiking trail. I know it’s October but it’s still about 80 degrees so I think we’ll be fine.”  
  
\----

The next morning, Carol’s phone rang at 6am sharp. Rindy and Jessica were pulling on to the highway and would arrive around 7am.

Therese was still fast asleep, facing away from Carol. She scooted over until her front was flush with the smaller woman’s back. She kissed down the back of her neck and let her arm circle her waist.

“If you wake me up at 6am one more time, I will withhold sex.” Therese said, eyes still closed.

“No, you won’t.” She kissed her neck once more. “We have an hour until the girls are here.”

Therese rolled over, facing her girlfriend. “Mmm, is that an invitation, Ms. Ross?”

They kissed slowly and Carol quickly descended the brunette’s body.

“Fuck, Carol!” she felt Carol’s tongue against her surprisingly responsive clit.

“So wet already this morning. What were you dreaming about, baby?”

Trying to control her breathing, “You.”

“Ah, and what was I doing in this dream?”

“Mmm, Carol. I can’t…talk right now. Keep going.” Therese struggled to keep her hips still.

Carol pulled away, hovering over her pussy. “Ah ah, if you don’t give me what I want, I won’t give you what you want. You know the rules.”

“Fine.” Carol dove back in. “I was…in the shower and…you snuck in behind me. When I turned around, I saw you were wearing the strap-on again. Ah!” she felt Carol bite down.

“Did you like it when I wore that, baby?” Carol growled.

“Yes. You looked so sexy. In the dream, you picked me up and pinned me to the shower wall. Then…fucked me.” Just then, Carol began pounding her with two fingers causing her to cry out.

Hips moving wildly, one hand in Carol’s hair, “Ah, I’m gonna cum!”

“Cum in my mouth, baby.” Those words were all she needed to fall over the edge.  
  
She collapsed on her sleeping bag and closed her eyes again.  

\----

When Rindy and Jessica arrived, Carol and Therese helped them setup their tent. Then they all began on their hike with their backpacks stuffed with snacks and towels.

Carol and Therese walked a few feet ahead of the younger girls.

“You having a good birthday so far?” Carol winked at the brunette.

“The best.” She beamed back. “Tavin got adopted, I’m camping, and I’m holding the hand of a beautiful, leggy blonde. I’d say it’s a pretty good weekend.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear.”

“Can y’all stop being gross? Are we almost to the water?” Rindy groaned.

The older women laughed. “Yes, Rindy. It’s just around this corner.”

When they got to the water, they stripped their hiking gear and hopped in the water. Carol was wearing a red bikini with barely-there bottoms and a high neck top. Therese sported a simple, white string bikini.

Carol leaned to whisper in the younger woman’s ear when she saw her eyeing her up and down. “Behave.”


	14. Lovebirds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of the camping trip with our ladies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of dialogue here, y'all. But definitely some smut. Would you expect anything less?

The rest of the day was spent walking back down the trail and preparing dinner. Therese grilled burgers and Carol chopped the veggies. All four of them sat around the fire, enjoying their food.

“How’s school going for you girls?” Carol asked.

“It’s fine. Jessica is running for junior class president!”

“It’s really no big deal. I don’t have to do anything except show up to all the games and events, which I already do anyway.” Jessica shrugged.

“What? No, that is a huge deal! It will look really good on college applications too.” Carol assured her.

“Rindy, what’s up with your boyfriend. What was his name? Josh?” Therese asked, looking to Carol.

Rindy’s eyes rolled “He’s…I don’t know. I don’t know if I like him anymore.”

“Why not?” Carol and Therese said in unison.

“I don’t know. I think I like someone else and he is kind of dumb. I made a joke the other day and he didn’t understand it at all! I had to explain it three times and, even then, he still didn’t get it!”

All of them burst into laughter.

“Well, kid, you have to be with someone that gets your jokes and can make you laugh.” Therese smiled at Carol as she spoke.

“What do I look for, Therese? I have liked a few boys in the past but they’re all so stupid. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“I’m no expert on boys but, when I was your age I made a few mistakes so I’ll give the best advice I can. You want someone that makes you laugh, for sure. No one wants to spend their time being bored out of their mind. You want someone you feel comfortable around.” She rested her left hand on Carol’s thigh. “You want to be excited every time they call you or when they enter a room or when you think about them. You want someone that comforts you when you’re not feeling well, mentally or physically. Someone that doesn’t mind watching your favorite movie a thousand times.” She turned to Carol who had been staring at her lovingly. “By the way, Rindy spilled the beans on what your actual favorite movie is.” Winking at the blonde.

“Rindy, how could you?!”

The two younger girls began laughing and Therese linked her fingers with Carol’s, squeezing her hand tight.

“Anyway, Rindy, you just want to find someone that you can be yourself around. Someone you’re comfortable sharing your favorite movie with.” She nudged Carol with her shoulder.

“Hey! I love Titanic, like I told you. I just…happen to love the Goonies more…” Carol sulked.

“Babe, I wouldn’t care if your favorite movie was Dumb and Dumber. I’d still make the popcorn and watch it with you as much as you wanted.” She started to move closer to Carol’s lips but stopped, remembering the girls were watching.

Carol didn’t care. “Rindy, we’re going to be ‘gross’ again. Close your eyes.” Carol leaned in and kissed Therese softly. They lingered for a few seconds before parting and smiling at each other. Rindy watched the whole thing.

\----

Carol walked to the campground showers to clean up before bed. Therese had already taken one and was getting their sleeping bags arranged. She stepped out of the tent to make sure the fire was out, when she saw the light coming from Rindy and Jessica’s tent. She walked over to say goodnight when she saw the two shadows lean forward and kiss. Then, continue kissing for a while. Therese wasn’t sure how long she stood there, frozen. Obviously, she was fine with two girls kissing but she wasn’t sure how to tell Carol. She quickly went back to their tent to wait on her girlfriend.

Carol came crawling in the tent with a towel drying her hair. “Ugh, that shower is awful. I can’t wait to be back in my own.” She finally looked up at the younger woman. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? You have a weird look on your face.”

“Um…so…I saw…um”

“For god’s sake, spit it out.” Carol was clearly in a bad mood from her luke-warm shower on concrete floors.

“Well…I saw Rindy and Jessica kissing in their tent a few minutes ago. I didn’t say anything to them. I wasn’t sure how you would want to handle that. Or if you want to even talk to them about it at all.”

Carol sat in silence. Eyes darting from Therese to the ground and back up again. “I don’t know. Should I ask her about it? Or do I let her figure that out on her own? She would be mortified that you saw. Well…maybe not. I mean, she was asking you for relationship advice earlier. Oh god, I think you may have made her realize who she wanted to be with! Look at you, little matchmaker.”

Therese punched Carol’s arm. “Shut up. It would make sense as to why she was asking those questions. I think you should leave it alone for now. I’m sure they just kissed and went to bed. That is so confusing at that age. Maybe just try to slip it in that you’re open to talking about that stuff too. Since she asked me, she may not think you’re ‘cool’.” She wiggled her eyebrows at her lover.

“I’m cool. I’m a cool mom.” Carol defended herself.

“Right. That’s what all the cool moms say. Look, don’t worry about it for tonight. If she pulls me aside I’ll tell you. But let her figure out what she’s even feeling first.”

“You’re right.” She turned the lantern off and sunk down into the sleeping bag, curling into Therese. They rarely laid like this, since Carol is the taller one. “What was your first kiss like? Both girl and boy, if you had both.”

“Well, with a boy it was in middle school. I was eleven. His name was Tommy and we used to walk together after school. He lived near the shelter. We walked with two or three other kids that lived nearby. One afternoon we all played truth or dare as we walked home. I was dared to kiss Tommy so I stopped, turned to him, grabbed him by the chin, kissed him, then ran home.” Carol burst into laughter.

“I know. Not a very romantic first kiss. However, my first kiss with a girl was…magical.” Therese looked up at the stars through the cut out in their tent. “I was seventeen, living with Dannie’s family at this point. All of them went out of town for a funeral and I didn’t want to go since I didn’t know the person that passed. I had a major crush on this girl in my biology class. Eleanor. But everyone called her Ellie. She was incredibly tan, she had long, wavy, brown hair. She was taller than me, about the same height as you. Volleyball player, of course. She would talk to me periodically but I didn’t think she even knew my name. One day she asked if I wanted to hang out after school. I told her no one was home but I’d ask. Dannie’s parents didn’t mind so Ellie came to stay the night. We watched movies all night long and ordered pizza. It was great. I had so much fun and laughed a lot. When we went to bed, she started asking me if I had ever kissed a girl before and if I wanted to. So, we turned to each other and just…kissed.”

Carol sat up to look at Therese’s face. “That was it?! You didn’t fool around or anything?”

She laughed, “No, Carol. I barely knew what kissing was! I wasn’t ready for any of that! Plus, the whole thing felt like a dream. I didn’t want to push my luck. Okay okay, now tell me what yours were like!”

Carol laid back down and began. “Well…my first kiss ever was actually with a girl. I was ten. We were at her house and her mom rarely came to check on us. We started watching this really old, shitty, movie that had a man and woman in bed basically the entire movie. So, she asked if I had had my first kiss yet and offered to be my first kiss. I told her kisses had to be with boys but she said her moms friend kissed girls so it was okay. I went along with it and…yeah. That was my first kiss.”

“What was her name?”

“Abby…” Carol winced.

“What?! You and Abby? That’s hilarious!” Therese couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah…it never happened again. We said it was gross because we are basically sisters. My first kiss with a boy was not so funny. My mother introduced me to this pimple-faced boy from the country club. I think our parents were doing some business deal and my mom wanted us to date for god knows why. His family was at our house for dinner and mom asked me to ‘show him around’ the grounds. We walked out by the pool and stuck our feet in. We barely spoke then he just looked at me and leaned in. I felt absolutely nothing. Thankfully, my mom called us back inside so I had an excuse to run away.”

“How old were you?” Therese asked, running her hand up and down Carol’s back.

“Fifteen, I think. His name was Lionel. Ugh, it was awful. The next man I kissed was Harge. At least with him, I felt something. Even though it still wasn’t much, I thought I could stand it for the rest of my life. Thankfully I didn’t have to.” She looked up at Therese and kissed her softly.

Their lips danced across each other’s for a few minutes before Carol pulled back to look into the brunette’s eyes.

“Therese?”

“Carol.”

“I know this is probably way too soon but we seem to be running at lightning speed. I mean, gosh, after our first date I basically fucked you through the phone.” She shivered at the memory. “But…I just…I don’t know this feels right. You know? It feels like I was meant to find you. Meant to be here, right now, in this moment. With you.”

Therese just laid there, letting Carol ramble. She could tell where this was going and smiled up at her lover.

“I have been crazy about you since I first saw you. I’ve gotten to see you work, see you with your family, with kids, you’re amazing with Rindy. It just feels right with you.” She noticed Therese’s smile start to fade, suddenly unsure of where this was headed. “I’m not proposing, darling. It’s only been a month.” She laughed and stared at Therese for a full minute of silence.

“I love you.”

The younger woman closed her eyes and smiled. She then flipped them over so she was on top of Carol, straddling her hips. She leaned down to kiss her passionately.

“I love you, Carol.”

“Really?”

“What do you mean ‘really’? Of course, I do! I fainted during our first interaction. I was quite literally _falling_ in love with you from day one. I know this is fast but, you’re right. It feels right. It feels like this was supposed to happen. Like I’ve known you my whole life and we just fit like puzzle pieces.”

They leaned in to kiss once more. It quickly became heated and Therese started grinding her hips into Carol.

“I have an idea. Take off your pants.” Carol demanded as Therese dismounted and they both stripped off their bottoms.  

Carol spread the brunette’s legs and descended on to her wet folds. “Hmm, wasn’t I just in this position earlier today?”

“Carol, stop. I want to touch you first.” 

“I wasn’t going to get you off that easily, but okay. I will stop. You’re wet enough for what I wanted to do to you anyway.”

Carol climbed up to straddle Therese then she pulled one of Therese’s legs up, slipping one of hers in between her thighs. Therese gasped when she felt Carol’s cunt touch her own. The blonde leaned to whisper in her ear. “Quiet, baby. You don’t want the girls finding us in this position, do you? Is this okay?” She said as she moved her hips slightly.

“Fuck…yes, Carol. Keep going.” Carol began grinding herself on to Therese. Their clits touching every few seconds. Their wetness mingling.

“Baby, you feel so good. Mmm, do you like how I feel against you?”

“Yes. God, Carol you feel amazing.” She lifted her leg more so it was resting on Carol’s shoulder.

Carol was much closer than she anticipated so she began thrusting her hips even quicker. Sweat running down her back. She dropped Therese’s leg and leaned down to support herself on her hands, next to the brunette’s head.

“Fuck, Therese.”

Therese was feeling bold and took this opportunity to talk to Carol the way she liked. She turned to whisper in her ear.

“Carol, your pussy feels so good. You’re so wet, I can feel it dripping down my cunt. I want to taste it, coming out of you.”

“Oh my god, baby. I…. ahh. Keep talking to me. Please.”

“You like it when I talk to you like this? When I tell you all the things I want to do to you? Like the dream I was having this morning? Mmm, I didn’t even tell you the rest of it. After you fucked me against the wall, I took the strap off of you and pulled you out, on to the ground in the bathroom. I pulled up to straddle my face and stuck my tongue into your dripping, wet pussy. I circled your clit until you begged me to suck it into my mouth and bite you.” She bit the side of Carol’s neck. She was having trouble keeping up the story as she was close to an orgasm as well. “Then, you grabbed the side of the counter and started riding my face. God, Carol, you’re so sexy when you do that. When you’re so needy and desperate for it that you grind yourself on me until you cum. Are you gonna cum for me now, baby? Grinding your pussy on mine. Fuck, Carol I’m—”

Just then, they came at the same time. Both shaking, continuing to move against each other but slower now. Carol pushed herself back up to gain leverage to continue pushing herself into Therese. The brunette had her head thrown back, fingers digging into Carol’s hips to try to control her movements but she failed as Carol picked up the speed again. She felt another orgasm surfacing as Carol continued moving, relentlessly. She looked up and saw the blonde, eyes scrunched closed, mouth open, and her hands on Therese’s chest. It only took another minute or two before they both were sweating and shaking once more.

Carol rolled off of Therese and struggled to control her breathing.

“Oh. My. God. That was incredible.”

“Carol, I can’t even breathe. I can’t talk to you right now.”

She laughed and rolled over to cuddle the younger woman and kiss her sweaty forehead. “I’m sorry baby. You did do a lot of talking a minute ago. You must be worn out.” She smirked.

Therese smiled widely, “It was worth it. That was…I don’t have words. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

“Neither have I, darling. Come on. Let’s shower again before bed.”

They threw their pants back on and walked toward the showers. They slowly washed each other’s bodies, stealing kisses every once in a while. They heard someone come in to use the restroom and they froze.

Therese peeked out and saw it was Rindy. “Carol, you need to go out there. See if she will talk to you.”

Carol dried her body and pulled her pajamas back on. She was drying her hair in front of the mirrors when Rindy came out of the stall. Therese was trying to stay silent behind the shower curtain.

“Hey, mom. I thought you took a shower hours ago?”

Struggling to find an excuse as to why she was taking two showers in one night. “I did. Well, I tried to but the water went cold halfway through so I gave it a little bit to heat up again.” It didn’t make any sense but she was hoping Rindy bought it. “What are you doing up, darling?”

Therese smiled to herself. Carol called both her and Rindy ‘darling’ but each one had a different inflection and meaning. 

“I can’t sleep. Jessica snores.”

“Do you want to squeeze into our tent to get some sleep? Therese doesn’t snore.” She smiled at the younger version of herself.

“Please! If she doesn’t mind.”

“Of course not. Come on, let’s go get your sleeping bag.”

They walked out while Therese quickly dressed and dried her hair as best she could, as to not raise any suspicion from the young girl. She was able to sneak into their tent and throw her hair into a bun. She was scrolling on her phone when Carol came crawling back inside. They gave each other a knowing look and Therese scooted her sleeping bag to the far side of the tent. Allowing Carol to squeeze in the middle of her and Rindy.

They were all situated and silent when Rindy spoke up. “Can…can I ask you guys something?”

Therese turned to smile at the blonde before answering. “Of course. What’s up?”

“Mom don’t get mad but, I…I think I might like Jessica.”

“Rindy, why would I be mad about that?” She reached over to hold Therese’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“I don’t know. Because I brought her here to sleep in a tent with me. I didn’t know I liked her until tonight. I mean, I suspected but after talking to you guys earlier I realized Josh doesn’t make me feel the way Jessica does. She makes me laugh and I feel like 100% myself around her. And it’s not just a friendship, I want to kiss her sometimes too. I did kiss her actually.”

“You did?” Carol acted surprised.

“Yeah…I didn’t mean for it to happen but we kissed…earlier. Like, in our tent.”

“Ah, now I know why you couldn’t sleep.” Carol pulled Rindy to snuggle against her. “Darling, I’m not mad at you. I just wished you would’ve talked to me about this. I could’ve helped you.”

“I know, but talking to your mom about this kind of thing is weird.”

Therese spoke up, “No it isn’t, Rin. Talking to your mom is the best thing you can do. She was once a teenage girl struggling with this too. She knows exactly how you feel. I can only wish I had a mom to talk to about this kind of thing when I was your age.” She felt Carol’s grip on her hand tighten.

“You don’t have a mom?” Rindy’s voice sounded so small.

“I do, I just…don’t know where she is. You have your mom right here. You should talk to her about everything. Trust me, she’s very wise.” She softly kissed Carol’s temple.

Carol pulled Rindy closer, “Darling, I know navigating relationships at this age is scary. Hell, it’s scary at any age. But I’m here. With whatever you need. Did you and Jessica talk about it after you kissed?”

“No, we just kind of turned the other way and went to sleep. What do I do? Do I ask her about it? Do I pretend it never happened? I’m so confused!”

“Do you genuinely like her? Would you want to try to have a relationship with her?”

“Mom, I don’t know! All I know is I need to break up with Josh ASAP!”

Carol laughed, “Yes, you need to be honest with him. Tell him he did nothing wrong, you just have feelings for someone else. Then, I would ask Jessica how she feels. Maybe on your way back home tomorrow. Ask her what she thinks about what happened and just see where she’s at.”

Rindy exhaled loudly. “Okay. You’re right. I’m so nervous.”

“I know, sweetie. It’s hard. You’ll figure all of this out, I promise. It just takes time. But, I’m here. You can talk to me about anything. Therese too.” She kissed the top of her head.

“Really? I can talk to you too, Therese?”

“Rindy, of course. I’m always here. And based on how much of a softy your mother is, I’ll be around for a long time.”

“What? A softy? I tell you I love you and that’s the kind of treatment I get?” Carol said, loudly.

Rindy sat up quickly, “What? You said ‘I love you’? That’s awesome!! Oo, mom, you’re in _looovvveeee.”_

“Oh my god, both of you go to sleep!” Carol demanded.

“Fine.” Rindy turned over, facing away from her mother. “Goodnight, lovebirds.”

“Goodnight, Nerinda.”

“Night, kid.” Therese said before whispering in Carol’s ear, “Goodnight, lover.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me!!


	15. Spoiled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day? What?? I am on a roll today. You might get more but don't get your hopes up. I just figured I'd post it instead of keeping you waiting. Hope you enjoy!

Monday morning came quickly. The group packed their cars with their camping gear and headed back home. They agreed that Rindy would take Jessica home then head to Carol’s for dinner.

When Carol and Therese arrived at the apartment, they did laundry and cleaned together. It felt very domestic and Therese loved it. She was watching Carol put fresh sheets on the bed. She just stared, watching her move and, quite frankly, struggle to get the sheets on the large king-sized bed. Therese was enjoying the show. Carol had on tight leggings paired with a thin tank top that showed her bright blue sports bra through it. Her hair was in a high bun, greasy from being outside all morning and not getting properly washed the night before.

“Are you going to help me or just watch me struggle?”

“Watching is quite enjoyable, for me.” Therese bit back.

“Come help me!”

Therese stood on the opposite side of the bed and tucked the sheets snuggly into their place. She began throwing the pillows up on the bed. “Why do you have a thousand pillows? You only need two!”

“They’re pretty. And they make the bed look nice and inviting.”

“Who are you inviting into your bed? Because I know you’re not talking about me. You know I just throw them across the room every time I’m here.” Therese laughed.

“Well, when you live here, you can set the pillow rules!” Carol continued arranging the decorative pillows while Therese stood there, frozen.

“When I…when I live here?”

Carol realized what she said but never looked up at her girlfriend. “Therese, you have to know the steps of a relationship. You realize I’m going to want to live with you at some point, right?”

“Yeah. I just…guess I never thought about it. It’s still hard for me to believe you are even with me. It feels like a dream.”

Carol jumped off the bed and walked over to pull Therese close. “Well, believe it, baby. Because I love you. A lot.” She kissed the brunette, hard. “I’m sorry, did that just completely scare you off?”

“What? No, of course not! I’d move in today if you wanted. Surprisingly, I’m not scared by how fast this is going. I haven’t felt this way about anyone before, Carol.” They kissed again.

“Good. Let’s hold off on the U-hauling for a little while. But for now, I’d like to cook you dinner and fall asleep in your arms. Does that sound good?”

Therese smiled widely. “Yes. But, do you mind if I run home while you cook? I need to grab some more clothes and I have a shoot tomorrow so I’ll need to prepare for that, too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I just assumed you’d stay here tonight. Would you rather go home?”

“No, no. I just need to grab some clothes and my laptop. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Therese kissed the blonde.

“Okay, do you need me to drive you?”

“No, I’ll catch the subway. I’ve been spoiled by your Audi, lately. Plus, Rindy might get here before I do and she might want to talk to you about her drive home.”

Carol smiled. She loved how much Therese cared about her relationship with her daughter. All the women she dated before hated the fact that she spent so much time with Rindy. They didn’t understand it. But Therese always made sure she was spending time with her daughter.

\----

When Therese arrived back at the apartment, Rindy and Carol were setting the table. She threw her bag in Carol’s room and sat down with the two of them and her laptop. “I’m sorry, I’m going to be rude. But I have to download some files that will take a while and I want to be able to look at them after we eat.”

“You’re fine, darling. Do you want some wine?” Carol said, setting the side dishes on the table.

“Yes, please.” She smiled up at her girlfriend. “So, Rindy, did you talk with Jessica?”

“Yeah. She said she likes me too!”

“Really? That’s great! Are you going to take her out on a date?” Therese was so happy for Rindy. She wished she would’ve been able to take girls out as a teenager but she was too scared.

“Yeah, we are going to the movies on Friday.”

“The movies?! C’mon, Rin, you can do better than that.” Carol said as she sat back down, handing Therese her wine.

“Carol, they’re kids! Let them be nervous and hold hands in a movie. Rindy, after the movie you should take her to get ice cream or something.”

“Oo, good idea! Thanks.”

\----

After dinner, Rindy went to her room to read for school and Therese sat on the couch to do some preparation for her shoot tomorrow. When she shot bands, they normally sent her images that resemble what they want their shots to look like. They also sent her their music and clothing styles so she could understand the vibe they were looking for.

Carol sat down next to her, tucking her feet underneath her, listening to the band’s music that was playing on the surround sound.

“What am I listening to?”

“This is the band I’m shooting tomorrow. They are a four-piece folk group. I kind of like it, do you?”

“Yeah, it’s catchy. Are you in the studio tomorrow?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Maybe I’ll bring you lunch.” She said smiling at the younger woman. 

“Maybe I’d love that.” Therese kissed her and turned back to her laptop. “I should have done this a long time ago but I have been quite distracted from my work lately.” She raised her eyebrows but didn’t look at Carol.

“Yeah? Well, I was in the middle of a trial and was being distracted _during_ my work!”

Therese laughed from her chest, “I’m sorry babe but those pantsuits just do things to me.”

“What kind of things?” Carol’s hand was now trailing along the back of Therese’s neck.

“Carol…you know I have to get this done.” She moved the hand away from the back of her neck and placed it in Carol’s lap, patting it gently. “I’m sorry. But the faster I get this done, the faster we can go to bed.”

“Fine.” She threw her hands up in the air, faking her annoyance. “I’m going to take a bath.” She kissed the brunette. “Join me if you finish before I’m out.” 

Therese went back to listening and taking in the music. She scanned the images the group sent her and made a bunch of notes for tomorrow. She would have to be at the studio around 9am to get setup. Dannie and Louise were on vacation with Tavin for the week so she would be flying solo.

She finally finished around 9:30pm and was grateful to find Carol was still in the bath. She closed the bedroom door and stripped her clothes. She slowly opened the bathroom door and found Carol asleep with her head leaning against the side of the tub. She sat on the edge and rubbed her hand up and down Carol’s arm.

“Carol. Hey, wake up.”

“Mmm, get in with me, baby.” Carol still had her eyes closed.

“No, come on. Let’s go to bed.” She grabbed Carol’s wine and took a drink of it before setting it on the counter. “Come on, you can’t even keep your eyes open.” She began draining the water in the tub and Carol reluctantly got out. Therese dried her and walked her into the bedroom.

“Lay down. I’ll get some PJs.” “No, don’t put any clothes on. I want to feel you.” Carol was crawling under the covers, eyeing Therese.

“Fine, but you wore me out this weekend. I just want to sleep.” Therese gave her an apologetic look.

“Baby, it’s fine just get in here.”

They curled up against each other. Therese behind Carol. She kissed her neck and linked their hands on Carol’s chest.

“Thank you for my surprise this weekend. I had fun with you. No one has ever done something like that for me.”

“Well, I enjoyed it. Thank you for inviting Rindy, I know that’s probably not how you imagined your birthday.”

“Carol, how many times do I have to tell you? I love Rindy! She’s a great kid. I love it when she’s around.”

Carol started crying, trying not to let Therese see but she did. She flipped Carol on to her back and began wiping her tears. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did I do something?”

“No, baby. Not at all. You’re just…amazing. No one has loved Rindy the way you do. All the woman I have dated, after my divorce, hated when Rindy was around. And you…you are treating her like your own and giving her advice. It’s just wonderful. Thank you.” She pulled Therese down for a kiss.

“I love you, Carol. Everything about you. Including your daughter.”

“I love you too.” They drifted off to sleep.

\----

Therese walked to the camera store after setting up for her shoot. She had about half an hour before the band would show up.

“Hi, I have a credit under this account number.” She handed the cashier the tiny card Carol gave her for her birthday. As well as one of her old cameras she had been wanting to get fixed. “I need this camera looked at. It’s pretty old but I don’t think it needs much work. How much do you think it would cost me? I’m not sure what’s on the credit.”

The camera tech looked at his screen then back at Therese. “Oh, you have plenty of credit. This won’t cost you much. Maybe $100.”

“Uh…how much is on the account?”

“$1,000”

Here eyes went wide. She was struggling to find words. “Uh…wow….um…okay. Thank you. Just call me when it’s ready.” She gave him her number to add on to the account.  

She walked back to the studio and tried to focus on the shoot with the band. _Why would Carol give me so much money? Maybe it was a mistake. Does she know I can’t give her the same value for a present? I have to give it back. Ugh, I doubt I can withdrawal that money from the shop to return to her._ _She pays for everything. When is the last time I offered to pay for something? And she’s bringing me lunch today?! I have to call her and change the plan._

She called Carol to meet her at the restaurant across the street instead of bringing her lunch. Carol ordered a steak sandwich and Therese got a salad.

“Darling, we could have eaten at the studio if you wanted. I don’t mind.”

“I just wanted to take you to lunch.”

“But I wanted to bring you food so you didn’t have to leave.” Carol grabbed her hand from across the table.

“Can you just let me buy you lunch, Carol? You don’t have to pay for me all the time!” It came out louder and more aggressive than Therese intended.

Carol looked offended and pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, darling. I just wanted to make your day easier.” Her voice was so small. She noticed the look on Therese’s face. “Are you okay, darling? Talk to me.”

“I’m fine, Carol. I just…I went to the camera shop today.”

“Ahh. Now I see what’s going on. Baby, I wanted to give that to you as a gift. Does the gesture bother you or is it the amount?”

“The amount. It’s too much. You always pay for everything and I…I just can’t do the same all the time. I’m drowning in invoices my clients don’t ever pay on time and I have a mile-long list of things to get for the Flower Garden. And—"

Carol grabbed her hand once more, cutting her off. “Therese. Stop. I like it. I like spoiling you. But, I would be just as happy eating take out on your living room floor. I don’t expect you to pay me back in anyway. You pay me back by loving me and letting me love you. This is just how I am. It’s how I’ve always been. Don’t take offense to it and let me spoil you. You deserve it.”

Therese let her gaze drop to her lap. “But you deserve it too and I can’t give that to you.”

“Baby, you spend half of your income, if not more, on an orphanage. You are helping so many kids and that is the greatest gift of all. Do you know how much respect I have for you because of that? Your compassion makes me love you even more. Don’t think I’m trying to buy you with all of this. It’s just my way of treating you.”

Therese looked back up to Carol. “Okay?”

Therese finally answered, “Okay. I’m sorry.” An idea sparked in her mind, “Can you come to the studio tonight? At 7pm?” “What do you have planned, Belivet?”

“You’ll have to find out.”

\----

At 7pm sharp, Carol knocked on the studio door. Therese walked her back to the large room at the end of the hall. Carol could not believe her eyes. There were candles everywhere. A blanket was laid in the middle on the room with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine with two glasses. She noticed a projector shining on the large white photo backdrop. There was also a cluster of pillows and a large duvet next to the picnic setup.

“Therese, what is all of this?”

“This is my way of spoiling you. I made dinner and got your favorite wine, even though I don’t like red. I’ll drink it with you.” She smiled and sat down on the blanket.

Carol was speechless. She sat cross legged on the blanket and let Therese make her plate and fill her wine glass. They had Alfredo pasta and a salad.

“This is perfect. Thank you, baby.” Noticing a movie was paused on the projector. “What are we watching?”

“What do you think?”

“You didn’t! We’re watching The Goonies?!” Carol looked like a kid that just won a trip to Disney World.

“Yes” Therese smiled, loving her girlfriend’s reaction.

They finished eating and laid down with the pillows and duvet. They curled into each other and watched the movie. Carol fell asleep about halfway through. Therese took this opportunity to stand up and photograph the blonde.

She was glowing in the candle light. Her head was tucked into her arm, on the pillow. The covers had dropped down a little, showing off her toned arms in her t-shirt.

Carol heard the clicking and looked up, lovingly at the brunette. Therese captured a few more shots then joined her again.

“Remind me never to fall asleep around your camera ever again.”

“You knew what you signed up for when you started dating a photographer.”


	16. Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOADS of dialogue in this one. Lots of touching moments between T & C as well as T & R
> 
> Tell me what you think! Next chapter should be up very soon!

Carol and Therese spent the next two weeks working and spending the night at each other’s apartments. They rotated every few nights. Their schedules were incredibly busy and their nights consisted of them coming home, one making or ordering dinner, then falling asleep around 10pm. Rindy was at Harge’s some of the time and spent pretty much all of her free time with Jessica.

At the end of a busy two weeks, they had to attend a party Abby was throwing at her parents’ house in Jersey.

Therese was getting ready in Carol’s bathroom when she felt two hands circle her waist from behind. “Do we have to go to this thing?” Carol rested her head on Therese’s back.

“It’s your best friend’s party and she hasn’t seen you since we started dating. I think she thinks I’m holding you captive. So, yes. We have to go.”

She kissed the back of her neck. “Fine. But if we’re not asleep by 11pm, I’m breaking up with you.”

“That’s fair. Go get dressed."

Ten minutes later, Carol came out of her closet wearing casual black dress pants and a matching blazer with a see-through black shirt underneath. Therese wore a simple dark green dress that was skin-tight.

“Wow.” The brunette said, staring at her girlfriend.

“Wow, yourself.” Carol let her eyes rake over Therese’s backside which was on display in the dress. “This party is full of lesbians that are going to want to take you home.” She came up behind Therese and stared at her in the mirror. “But you’re mine.” She kissed the side of her neck.

“You're sure I'm the only one that’s going to be getting hit on tonight? Look at you!”

Carol’s eyes went dark. “Tell me you’re mine.”

Therese felt her arousal deep in her belly, “I’m yours, Carol.” She felt a smack on her ass.

“Good. Now, let’s go.” Therese wasn’t sure what had come over Carol but she was excited to see where the night would lead.

\----

The party was in full swing by 9 o’clock. There were easily fifty people there and Carol was right, all lesbians. There were maybe two or three men which were the husbands of a few straight friends Abby had.

Therese made her way into the kitchen to refill her drink and was quickly stopped by a short woman wearing a maroon blazer. She was attractive but definitely not Therese’s type. _Do I even have a type anymore, or is it just Carol?_

“A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be making her own drinks.”

Therese laughed uncomfortably, “Thank you. I was drinking vodka and soda water.”

“Coming right up! I’m Maggie. I don’t think I’ve seen you around these parties before.”

“No, this is my first time. I’m Therese.” They shook hands after Maggie handed her drink back.

“Nice to meet you, Therese. So, how do you know Abby?”

“Well, I actually met her a few years ago but I just started dating her best friend so that’s who I’m here with.”

“Her best friend as in Carol Aird?” Maggie said her name as if she was disgusted.

“Yes, what’s so bad about Carol?”

“She broke my friend’s heart, that’s what’s so bad about her. She’s bad news, Therese. You might want to end it before you get in too deep. That woman doesn’t know what commitment is.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about her that way. She is very committed to me, I’ll have you know.”

“Yeah, for now. Then she’ll find someone else and drop you so quick, you won’t even realize what’s happening.”

Therese placed her drink on the counter and went to find Carol. She saw her perched on the arm of the couch, talking with a beautiful redhead. The redhead kept laughing at whatever Carol was saying and touching her on the arm. Therese was fuming. Carol was being so possessive at home and now this? Just then, Carol looked up and waved Therese over. She turned and bolted upstairs.

Carol knocked on the bathroom door. “Therese, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Go away, Carol. I’m going to call a cab to the train station. I don’t feel well.”

“Baby, let me in.” She pounded on the door. Therese finally unlocked it and allowed Carol to push her way inside. She had tears running down her face.

“Baby, what is wrong? What happened?”

“Carol, are you seeing anyone else?”

The blonde’s eyes went wide in shock. “What? Of course not. What made you ask that?”

“Well, this…this woman downstairs told me some story about her friend and how you don’t do commitment and you will drop me the second you find someone else. Then I saw you with that redhead and she was touching you and I…I just wanted to run.”

Carol pulled her by the chin to look at her, wiping her tears away. “Therese, how could you even think for a second that I wanted someone else? I’m assuming you talked to Maggie Hershaw. I dated her friend, Elizabeth, last year. What Maggie doesn’t know is Elizabeth and I never had any chemistry outside of the bedroom. We dated for a few months and I ended it because I realized I would never want her around Rindy since we didn’t click emotionally. There was no reason to continue to date her if it was just sex. I didn’t dump her for someone else. I dumped her then a year later, I found you. As for the woman downstairs, that is Abby’s new girlfriend. She was laughing at all my jokes to try to get in my good graces so I’d give the stamp of approval to Abby. All of Abby’s flings do it. They know she won’t date someone I don’t approve of.”

“Oh…I’m sorry, Carol. I just felt so protective of you and to see another woman touching you makes my skin burn.”

“It would make mine burn too. That’s why I was acting so crazy and possessive earlier. I know how these parties are and I didn’t want anyone touching you the way I touch you.” She let her hand trail down Therese’s side and on to her ass.

“I don’t want anyone else touching me either.”

Carol leaned against the wall, taking Therese with her. She pulled her by the backside and slipped a thigh between her legs. They began grinding against each other then, Carol flipped around and pressed Therese’s front against the wall. She let her hand travel up her thigh, sliding her dress up as she went.

“I don’t want anyone else, baby. I’m yours. Will you be a good girl for me and stay quiet?”

Therese threw her head back on Carol’s shoulder. “Yes” She pushed her hips against Carol’s hand.

Carol moved her hand in between the smaller woman’s thighs and moaned. “Fuck, Therese. You’re so wet. And why aren’t you wearing any panties?”

She tried to control her breathing. “For you.”

“Mmm, so naughty Ms. Belivet.” She let her finger tease the brunette’s wet cunt. She circled her clit a few times before plunging two fingers deep into her lover. Therese rocked her hips against Carol’s hand and moaned. “Shh, baby. They’ll hear you. Do you want everyone to know you’re getting fucked against a bathroom wall?”

Therese held her lips together tightly and continued to move. She pulled the neckline of her dress down, freeing one breast and directed Carol’s freehand to squeeze it. Carol tugged her nipple, causing the brunette to jerk backwards but was stopped by Carol’s body holding her in place, not letting up or allowing her to change positions. Carol’s fingers were moving quickly in and out of her cunt. Therese was so close and used her left hand to touch her clit rapidly. Carol couldn’t believe her eyes. She turned to see their reflection in the mirror and was so turned on by the sight.

“Cum for me, baby.”

And she did. The younger woman shuttered and stood on her tiptoes, pressing back against the taller woman behind her. Carol pulled her hands away and Therese fixed her dress. She turned around with dark eyes looking up at her girlfriend.

“Let’s go home.”

Carol tucked a strand of hair behind Therese’s ear, “My home or your home?”

“Carol. Home.” She grabbed her by the wrist and led her back downstairs. Carol was grinning like an idiot. Hearing Therese call her apartment home was music to her ears.

They passed by Abby on the way out. “Abby, thank you for having us but we’re going to head out.”

“Therese, you have lipstick on your neck, I think I know what you’re heading to do.” She winked at the smaller woman. “Take care of her.”

“Oh, she will!” Carol said, clearly itching to leave. “By dear, great party as usual. Talk to you tomorrow” she said while being dragged out the front door.

\----

They arrived back at Carol’s and Therese was wasting no time. She stripped both of their outfits and threw Carol on the bed. She ran to the closet and Carol heard the buckles immediately.

Therese crawled on top of her. “Can I use this on you, Carol?”

Carol grabbed the dildo and pushed it into Therese’s clit “Yes, baby. I want it.”

She spread lubricant along the red cock and slowly eased it into her girlfriend. Carol moaned, feeling the entirety of it fill her.

“You like that?”

“Yes, Therese. I love it. Go faster!” Therese began pumping in and out of the blonde, watching her face for any changes.

“Baby, can we flip over?” Therese pulled out of her and laid on her back. She watched as Carol slowly sank herself down on to the dildo and begin moving up and down. She watched in amazement as Carol’s breasts would bounce every time she moved. She sat up to hold on to Carol’s waist as she drove herself down harder each time.

“Therese. I’m going to…” she trailed off as she came hard all over the cock. Screaming Therese’s name as she did so. She dug her nails into the brunette’s back while coming down.

She moved off of her and rolled on to her back, laughing. Therese threw the strap-on next to the bed.

“What is so funny?”

“Just the entire night. I can’t believe you thought I wanted Gen. I also can’t believe how aggressive I get with you during sex. I literally took you in a bathroom tonight during a party. Like a damn teenager.” She rolled over to lay her head on Therese’s stomach. “God, I love you.”

Therese laughed, “I love you too, Carol.” She laid her head back and stared at the ceiling while she regained control of her breath.

“Move in with me.”

Therese didn’t even flinch, “Yes.”

“Yes?” Carol jumped up on her knees.

“Of course. I told you, when you brought it up the first time, I would’ve moved in that day.”

Carol tumbled on top of the brunette, kissing her face all over.

\----

The next day, Rindy was back at the apartment for the week. Therese woke to noise in the kitchen. She turned and saw Carol fast asleep next to her. She wandered in to main area of the apartment and found Rindy making herself lunch.

“Hey, kid. What are you doing?”

“Making grilled cheese. You want one?”

“Sure, thanks. I didn’t realize it was so late. Your mom and I got home from Abby’s late last night. These past few weeks have been so crazy, I guess we needed sleep.”

“Mom does that. She runs herself ragged for a while then crashes for an entire day.”

“Noted. How was your weekend?” Therese got herself a glass of water while Rindy cooked.

“It was good. I hung out with Jessica for most of it.”

“How’s that going, by the way?”

“So great! She’s amazing! She hangs out at dad’s with me a lot. We swim and watch movies.”

“Does your dad know you two are together or does he think you're just friends” Therese asked, eyeing the young Aird.

“I think he suspects but he hasn’t asked me and doesn’t protest when she comes over. It’s not like we’re doing anything we’re not supposed to. We just kiss. I don’t even know how to do anything more than that!”

Therese let out a hearty laugh. “Well, don’t rush it. That stuff is confusing at your age and I’d hate for you to do something you aren’t comfortable with. But, when you are ready, your mom and I are here if you have any questions.”

Rindy dished out the grilled cheeses and sat next to Therese at the bar. “I just…how do you know if you will like it?”

“I mean, I know everyone says ‘you don’t know you don’t like something until you try it’. But, with this…you just know. If you’re attracted to someone, your body will tell you if you’re ready or not. If you aren’t feeling any…um…urges...then I’d hold off. Also, safety is a concern, so talk to your mom before you do anything. Even though you think it’s weird. You’d rather have an uncomfortable conversation with your mother now than uncomfortable conversations with every future partner.”

“Wow. Good point. Thanks. Thank you for talking to me about this stuff. I know I’m just your girlfriend’s daughter and you might not love it when I’m around but—”

Therese threw her hand in the air, “Stop it. I love having you around. Your mom said the same thing to me. Geez, do you two think I just hate kids?! Rindy, you’re awesome. I love talking to you. It makes me remember what it was like to be sixteen. Even though I’m not that much older, it feels like a lifetime ago.”

“Well, I like having you around too. Mom’s never let me meet girlfriends in the past. I’m glad she let me meet you. You’re cool and easy to talk to.”

“Anytime, kid. Anytime.” Therese wiped her hands on the paper towel and stood up. “Alright, I’m going to go wake sleeping beauty in there. She promised to run errands with me today. Do you want to come? We’re buying some stuff for the orphanage.”

“The one you were in?”

“Yeah. I own it now. You can help me pick out cute stuff for the girls’ rooms.”

“Okay! I’ll go shower.”

Therese walked into Carol’s bedroom and found the bed empty. She heard the shower turn on and made her way into the bathroom. Carol was facing the mirror, wiping a single tear.

“Carol, what’s wrong?” She turned the blonde to face her.

“I heard you and Rindy talking. You’re so good with her. You said exactly what I would have said.” She leaned in and kissed Therese. “I love you so much.”

“I love you _both_ so much.” She smacked Carol’s ass. “Now come on, let’s shower.”

\----

Rindy ran across the aisle to a purple comforter set. “Oo, what about this one?”

“That looks great! Get two of them. Twin size.” Therese turned back to the pots and pans that Carol was looking at. “Babe, we need cheap ones. They get beat up pretty quickly.”

“Yes, darling, but if you had nicer ones, they would last longer.”

Therese picked up two cheap pots and a cheap pan. “Here. These are fine. Let’s go.”

Carol grabbed a boxed set with an assortment of pots and pans with matching mixing bowls without Therese noticing.

When they made it to the register, she noticed the expensive cookware and gave Carol an angry look. “Carol, we’ve talked about this. I don’t want your help.”

“Darling, it’s a gift for the children. You wouldn’t want them to suffer any more than they have, would you?” She smiled at the brunette and kissed her cheek.

“Fine. Thank you. But I’m paying for the rest of this stuff.”

\----

After the store, the trio got a late lunch and stopped by the Flower Garden to drop off the new items.

The onsite manager, Rose, greeted them with a group hug. “Oh, it’s so nice to finally meet you both! Therese talks about you all the time. And Carol, this is such a generous gift. Me and the volunteers will put these to good use. The mixing bowls are a great edition! The kids always ask me to make them brownies. Thank you thank you!”

“No problem, Rose. I’m happy to help in any way I can! This one said it was too extravagant, of course.” She nudged Therese. “But it’s the least I can do.”

Rindy was walking around, taking in the living quarters and the children running around. “Hey Rose, how do you volunteer? Do you have to be eighteen or can I do it?” Carol and Therese smiled widely at each other and squeezed their hands that were linked.

“Really, Rindy? You want to volunteer? It’s mostly cleaning and cooking.” Therese added

“Well, I know how to use a broom and I think my grilled cheese this morning proved that I’m alright in the kitchen.”

Rose handed her a volunteer sheet and had Carol sign off on it. “Okay, Rindy. You can start whenever you’d like. Just send me or Therese your schedule and when you can work so I can put your name down.”

“Great! Thanks Rose. I’m excited.”

“Thanks Rose. Okay, ladies, can we stop by Snapped really quick? I need to grab my hard drive, then we can go back home.”

As they walked out on to the street Rindy made a comment about Therese calling their apartment ‘home’. Therese walked ahead of them, pretending to be typing on her phone so they could have some privacy.

“Well…I actually wanted to talk to you about that, Rin. What would you say to Therese moving in with us? I wanted to run it by you before we made any decisions.”

“Seriously?! That would be awesome! Of course, she can live with us!”

Therese turned around, “Really, kid? You’re okay with it?”

Rindy ran to hug Therese, “Yes!”


	17. Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW! SO MANY UPDATES! I'm on a roll and I hope it continues! Thank you all so much for reading!

Therese took Friday off to move into Carol’s apartment. She was alone, unpacking books when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find a tall, dark-haired man in a trench coat.

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Where’s Carol?”

“She’s at work but should be here in about 20 minutes. Are you…are you Harge?”

“Yes, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Therese, Carol’s girlfriend.” She reached out to shake his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” She said with a tight-lipped smile.

“Come in. You can wait for her. Would you like something to drink?” Therese shut the door behind him as he strolled down the hallway.

“Coffee would be great.” Harge made himself comfortable on a barstool, watching Therese navigate around the kitchen. Noticing how she knew where everything was. “So, how long have you two been together?”

“Um…about three months I think. It all moved pretty quickly I can't keep track.”

He took notice of the moving boxes scattered around the living room. “Is Carol moving?”

Therese placed his coffee on the bar, “Oh…no. I’m moving in actually.” She noticed his eyes open wider. “Trust me, I am aware it is fast. But I was spending so much time here already it just made sense.”

“Wow. It must be serious. How’d you get her to commit so quickly?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? I don’t know. We just…fell for each other.” She was going to say ‘fell in love’ but didn’t want to hurt his feelings in anyway.

Her phone rang, it was Carol. “Hi, darling. I’m leaving the office. Are you done moving your things?”

“Yeah, I got everything moved over. Just unpacking now. Harge is here.”

“What?! What the fuck is he doing there?”

“Not sure. We’ve got coffee and we’re just getting to know each other.” She smiled at Harge. “Okay, see you in a bit.” Therese hung up the phone and stirred creamer into her cup. “She’ll be here in 5 minutes.”

“Great. I just wanted to talk about Rindy with her.”

“Oh? What’s going on?” Therese looked at him over her mug.

“Well for starters she thinks she’s a lesbian like her mother.” Therese chocked on her coffee. “And I just think we need to agree on some ground rules.”

“I know I have no say in the matter, but I actually agree with you.”

Harge was shocked. He was sure he would get some heat from the girlfriend. “You do?!”

“I do. I think you two have to treat it the same as if she were seeing a boy. No sleepovers, hands above the blankets, that kind of thing. I know Rindy has no idea what to do with a girl but I think you have to show her that her sexuality doesn’t change the rules.”

“Wow, Therese. I really appreciate that. I did not think you would agree with me.” He put his face in his hands. “Ugh, this whole thing is so difficult. I know Carol is going to argue with me on this. She argues with me over everything.”

The brunette laughed. “Well, I definitely have experienced her hard-headedness, but I think she will agree with us on this one.”

The front door flew open and Carol tossed her bag on the counter. “Harge, what are you doing here?”

“Why so hostile, Carol?” He gave her a shit eating grin.

“Because this is not exactly how I wanted Therese to have to meet you. Showing up unannounced.”

Therese breezed past her, running her hand along Carol’s back. “Oh, stop it. We were actually getting along quite nicely. I’ll let you two talk. I’m going to put my books on that shelf over there. Is that alright?”

“Of course, darling. It’s your house now too. We can move whatever you need.” She turned her attention back to Harge after watching Therese sway her hips as she walked into the living room. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Rindy. Rindy dating girls and the boundaries we need to agree upon for that.”

“What kind of boundaries are you talking?”

“Now, you know I don’t like this at all. I think she just sees you happy with Therese and thinks she should try it. And before you come back at me with some snarky comment let me just say this.” He grabbed Carol’s hand from across the bar. “I know I’ve been an ass in the past. I told you being with women was a phase and you were crazy and I’m sorry. You look happier than I’ve seen you in a very, very long time. I don’t think you’ve been this happy since the first year of Rindy’s life.”

Carol had tears welling up in her eyes. Harge _never_ talked to her this way. “Well…thank…thank you. What’s gotten into you? You’ve gone soft.” She smiled.

“I’ve just been opening my eyes more. Rindy tells me how happy you are and how happy Therese makes you. I like her. She actually agrees with me on this whole thing. I am happy that Rindy is happy. I wish she was happy with a boy, but that’s my own issue. I just look at your life and see the pain you went through when you were with me and I don’t want that for our little girl. If she’s happy with this Jessica girl then that’s fine. However, you and I need to set rules. If she were seeing a boy we would never let him stay the night so I think we should do the same with Jessica.”

Carol was still coming back down to earth after hearing Harge say all of those nice things. “Ye-yeah. I agree.”

He gave her a look of disbelief. “You what?”

Carol let out a hearty laugh. “Harge, I don’t disagree with every thought in your brain! I agree with you on this. I think we have to make it clear that she can’t have boyfriends or girlfriends stay the night. But she could say a girl is just a friend and have her stay over anyway. So, we have to let her know that she can’t break our trust like that. And you and Susan have to be civil about this. You have to allow her to have Jessica over. All they want to do is hold hands and be next to each other. You remember what dating at sixteen was like.”

“Carol, I was a horny teenage boy. It was quite different…I hope!”

“Very different for girls. I promise. I’ll let you know if we have anything to worry about.” Carol gave him a reassuring smile.

“Good to know. Well, I’ll get out of your hair. Looks like you’ve got some unpacking to do. I’ll talk to Rindy when I get home. Thanks for agreeing with me.”

“Same page. For once.” She smiled back at him.

“It was very nice to meet you Therese.” He told the woman across the room.

“You too!” She waved as he walked out the door. She continued organizing her books and records on the large built in shelf when she felt Carol come up behind her and kiss her neck.

“That was the nicest he has ever been to me! I’m pretty sure our wedding night wasn’t even that nice.”

Therese shivered. “Carol, I love you but I don’t want to think about you and Harge having sex on your wedding night. Ever.”

She laughed. “You’re right, darling. I’m sorry. Do you need any help?”

“Nope, that’s the last of this box. I just need to find room in your closet for my clothes and I’ll be done!”

“Well let’s go clear some space, shall we?” She pulled Therese by the hand.

\----

“Okay, what is this?” Therese held up a green, short, sparkly dress that was in a plastic garment bag.

“That was my dress for senior prom! Isn’t it awful?”

“Carol, you don’t need to keep this! It’s going in the give away pile.” She tossed it on the bed.

They continued to downsize Carol’s closet for another hour before Therese’s clothes could fit.

“Darling, I’m going to run down the block and grab some dinner. I’ll be 10 minutes.” She chastely kissed her on the lips and ran out the door.

Therese had an idea as she was standing in her new closet. Seeing her clothes next to Carol’s made her feel so warm inside. She grabbed the fluffy rug from the bedroom floor and threw it on the closet floor. She remembered seeing Christmas lights in the hall closet and quickly strung them up lazily along the top shelf. Then, she stripped all of her clothes except her lace underwear and put on one of Carol’s black blazers. She heard the front door open again and walked out to greet her new roommate.

Carol had her back turned, placing the take-out containers on the counter. “I got sushi, I hope that’s okay.”

She heard a sultry voice from behind her “I think you’ll want to eat something else before the sushi.”

She quickly turned around and her jaw dropped at the image that was Therese. The brunette swayed her hips as she walked toward the blonde. “Come with me.” Therese pulled Carol into the closet. “We haven’t christened this room yet.” She pulled Carol to her, the older woman’s hands immediately wrapping around her waist.

“You do look pretty delicious in my blazer.” She stared down at her and pulled the jacket to peek at her naked breasts underneath it. She pushed Therese against the wall and started sucking on the taut nipples. Therese threw her head back and let her right hand get lost in the blonde locks. Carol let her knees drop as she started to kiss and lick her way down the younger woman’s body. “I always seem to take you up against walls.”

“I’m not complaining.” She felt Carol slide her panties down her toned legs and throw them over her shoulder. She leaned in and inhaled deeply, her nose brushing against Therese’s clit. “God, Carol. Please, I need you!”

“Mmm, how badly do you need me baby?” She let her lips ghost over Therese’s soaking cunt.

“I need you so bad. Please!”

“Uh-uh. That wasn’t convincing enough. Tell me exactly what you want. I want to hear it.” She continued to barely touch the woman in front of her, letting her breath tease Therese.

“Ah, Carol!” She pulled the blonde hair toward her but Carol wasn’t budging. “Argh! Fine. I want you to suck on my clit, lick it, bite it. I want to feel your tongue inside of me and…I want to…”

“You want to what, baby?” Carol could feel herself getting wetter with every second.

“I want to come in your mouth! Now please let me!”

Carol dove forward and began lapping up everything Therese’s pussy was giving her. She did as she was asked, the licked the throbbing clit and softly bit it with her teeth before sucking it into her mouth.

“Ahhh! Oh fuck. Yes…keep going...oh my—fuck.” Therese was wiggling, trying to push herself further into Carol’s mouth.

Carol brought her hands down to Therese’s ass and dug her nails in as she pulled her as close as she could get. She flicked her tongue over Therese’s clit a few times before flattening her tongue and giving Therese a few swipes up and down her cunt. Then, she teased her entrance until she heard the brunette beg.

“Carol, please…inside…I need—” Carol stuck her tongue up into Therese, as far as it would go, wiggling it and hitting that magic spot over and over. She brought her right hand around to tease Therese’s clit.

“Yes, yes, right there! Ah!” Therese was screaming at this point. She looked down at Carol and their eyes met. “Oh fuck, I’m gonna—I’m—fucking hell!” She felt the warm liquid shoot out of her body and into Carol’s waiting mouth. She felt as if she left her body. She was tingling all over. Carol didn’t stop her movements for another minute or so, Therese wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She finally pulled Carol by the hair and pulled her off, sinking to the ground and falling into Carol’s arms.

Therese must have dozed off because she woke up on the rug with Carol kissing her neck from behind. 

“Welcome back” she could her the smile in Carol’s voice.

“How long was I out?”

“About 5 minutes. I think you blacked out. I’ll have to remember what I did. That was…something else.”

“I’ve never cum that hard in my entire life. I can’t feel my legs.”

Carol rolled Therese on her back and kissed her lips passionately. “Good. That was the goal. Thank you for my surprise…even though you were the one that got surprised.”

“I’ll repay you I just need to lay here for a while.”

“Baby, you don’t have to repay me. I’m happy laying here with you. But I do want my sushi. I’ll be right back.” Carol grabbed the sushi and pulled a blanket from the couch. “Take off that blazer. It’s too nice to have soy sauce spilled on it.” She threw the blanket at Therese. 

They sat together, quietly. Just enjoying each other’s company and the beginning of a new chapter.


	18. Payback is a Bitch, Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I write is these two having sex, sorry...only a little though.

They had been living together for a couple weeks now and things were going swimmingly. Carol was busy preparing for another trial, Therese was at the studio almost every day, and Rindy was getting more serious Jessica.

On Thursday, Therese stopped by CTA to bring Carol lunch. She ran into Mr. Cameron on the way back to Carol’s office.

“Therese! So lovely to see you again! How have you been?”

“Oh, hi Mr. Cameron! I’ve been great, you?”

“Busy as usual. I hear you and Carol are an item now! I’d like to take the matchmaker credit on that one.” He chuckled.

“Yes, yes we are. You can have all the credit.” She rolled her eyes, jokingly. “I’m just bringing her lunch. It was good to see you!”

Therese silently entered Carol’s office as she was on the phone with a client. She set out the food on the small coffee table, in front of the couch. She closed the door behind her and noticed the blinds were already shut. She walked behind Carol’s desk and kissed her on the top of her head, slowly kneading her shoulders to release the tension that was inevitably building. She got another idea on how to release her tension.

Therese sunk to her knees and crawled to kneel in front of Carol. The large desk providing her safety from being seen. She pushed the chair back a little and was grateful to find her lover in a skirt. Carol spread her legs instinctively. Therese could smell her arousal. It was intoxicating. She slid her hands up Carol’s toned legs and squeezed the inside of her thighs. She let her thumb dance across the front of the older woman’s thong and heard her gasp, disguising it as a cough. She stopped her movements for a moment then felt Carol grab her wrist and push her hand deeper in between her legs.

Therese continued to tease Carol’s clit through her panties, which were growing wetter by the second. She pushed the tight pencil skirt up the muscular thighs and pulled the red thong off of her. Dropping it in her back pocket. Carol scooted closer to the edge of the chair and leaned back.

“Yes, Charles, I understand. However, you can’t use that in a court of law.” A warm, wet swipe of Therese’s tongue caused her to ‘cough’ again. “Be-because, they have stronger evidence than that and they will tear you to pieces.” She felt teeth on her throbbing clit. “Charles, listen to me. I-“ Therese sucked her clit into her mouth. “I-I have to call you back. Someone just stepped into my office.” She felt the tongue descend to her opening. Circling it. Teasing. “I’m sorry. Give me an hour.” Therese’s tongue continued to tease, not entering just yet. She brought her thumb back into play, dancing circles around Carol’s clit. “Ahhhh-Apologies. M-my apologies. I’ll call you after this meeting. Yes. Yes. Goodbye.”

Therese plunged her tongue deep inside Carol’s awaiting opening. It was warm and so incredibly wet.

“Ahh, fuck!” Carol pushed herself deeper into Therese’s mouth. Rocking her lips slightly. She threaded her hands into brunette locks, scratching her scalp. Therese was spurred on by the pain and went even faster. Fucking her harder.

“Baby. Oh, fuck, yes.” Carol tried to whisper but her words were muddy with moans. “God, I…mmmmm”

Therese pulled her tongue away for a split second, causing Carol to whimper. “Cum for me, Carol” She went back to tongue fucking the blonde. She bobbed her head back and forth, feeling the walls tighten around her tongue. She curled it slightly, moaning into Carol as she did so. She immediately felt strong thighs clench around her head and the grip on her hair became tighter. She pulled her tongue from Carol and softly licked up and down her slit, bringing her down from the high. She slumped in her chair and closed her legs, tightly. Pulling her skirt back down to an acceptable length.

Therese climbed out from under the desk, wiping her face on the back of her hand.

“Wow.” Was all Carol could say. Eyes closed, head leaning against the back of her chair. The brunette gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and went to sit on the couch.

“You were solid up until the end there. You can focus better than anyone I’ve ever met! It was quite impressive.” Therese laughed as she picked up her sandwich.

Carol strolled over to the couch and sat with her knees touching Therese’s. “Payback is a bitch, darling.”

“Give me your best shot.” She threw Carol a challenging glare. The blonde smiled, leaning in to kiss her, lingering longer than she meant to.

“Thank you for lunch, dearest. I had no time to leave the office today.” She took a drink of her soda. “What time will you be home tonight?”

“I’m still not used to you saying ‘home’. I love it.” Dimples popping out as she smiled.

“I love you” Carol replied, kissing her cheek.

“I actually finished my shoot early so I’ll head home after this. I’ll start laundry since Rindy will be back tomorrow. I haven’t washed anything since she was there last.”

“So domestic, Ms. Belivet.”

Therese got lost in her thoughts, staring at the wall. She was wondering if Carol would want to take her name, should they choose to get married. _Oh…does Carol even want to get married again? I know it’s too soon to think about that but, I’d like to know the answer. Just ask her! What if she thinks I’m planning on proposing and I freak her out? I’m not planning that but I’d like to have it in mind for the future._

Carol snapped her fingers. “Darling, where’d you go? You were a million miles away.”

Turning to see the blonde staring at her, her hand on the younger woman’s knee. “Oh, nowhere. Sorry.” She let her head drop back down to her lunch.

“No. Tell me what’s wrong. You know I hate it when you do that.”

Therese smiled to herself. She loved that they had _that_. They had things that they picked on each other for, they had thing they didn’t like but loved anyway, they had history. She’s never had that with anyone before.

“I was…and don’t let this scare you off. Nothing is in the works. I just…Carol, do you ever want to get married again?” She didn’t let the older woman answer before continuing. “I mean, I know your last marriage didn’t go so well but, would you? If you found the right person, I mean. I’m not pressuring you. I’m just…curious. And if say we were to…head down that path…I don’t know. Would you want to take my name or me take Ross? Or a hyphen? No, I think those are stupid. It’s like ‘what’s your last name, kid?’ Oh god, do you want to have more kids? I hadn’t thought about it before…and Rindy is so great. She’s almost seventeen. Those kids would be almost two decades apart in age. Do you want to have another kid? I’m not opposed to it. It would be a long conversation but—” She finally stopped talking and looked at Carol who was staring at her, lovingly.

“Are you done?” She smirked.

“Ye-Yes. I’m done.” She let her head drop again, as if she had been defeated and she knew Carol was going to say no to all of it. She didn’t mean to talk that much. She didn’t mean to bring up children.

_What the fuck are you doing? You’re going to have her running for the hills! You JUST moved in. Don’t pop this fantasy bubble before you even have a chance to live in it!_

“Darling, look at me.” She pulled her chin up with a single manicured finger. She kissed the brunette. It was soft and gentle but full of passion and love. “Therese. Hear me when I say this. I want anything you are willing to give me. Of course, I’d like to marry you. The last name thing is a bigger conversation that I’d rather not have in the middle of my office. And as far as children…I never thought I’d have another one but I can just picture you all fat and pregnant and my heart swells. Again, that’s a bigger conversation. But yes. I want it all and I think we are heading in the right direction.”

That finally earned her a smile from the younger woman.

“You’re adorable when you ramble. Getting lost in your own thoughts. But if you have an outburst like that again, I will punish you.” The pale face in front of her turned red. “You have to talk to me, Therese. This is a partnership. Don’t let all of those thoughts build up like that or your head will explode.” She grabbed the small hand, “I’m here. I love you. I’m all in. Don’t be afraid of scaring me off. I’m not going anywhere.”

They kissed once more and Carol’s phone beeped, signaling a conference call in five minutes. “Now, give me back my underwear and go home.” She held her hand out as she stood up, adjusting her skirt.

Therese grabbed the red thong from her back pocket, “No, I think I’ll keep these.” She brought them up to her nose and inhaled. Carol blushed slightly and Therese turned to walk out the door.

\----

When Carol arrived home that night, she walked in to the most amazing smells. She strolled in the kitchen to find grilled chicken with dirty rice and a side salad. She also found a glass of wine on the counter with her thong and a note.

**Go change into something comfortable. I’m on the balcony.**

**-T**

Carol dropped her bag and went to put on a loose v-neck and baggy sweat pants. Forgoing any undergarments. She took her wine out to the balcony to join Therese.

“Well look at you, all cozy.” Carol leaned down to kiss her.

“How was work after I left?”

“Well, it was hard to focus, I'm not going to lie. But I finished everything I needed to so that was good. What did you do?”

“I did laundry, vacuumed, and edited some photos I had to send off. Pretty boring day.” Therese sipped her wine, looking out at Central Park. She was taking in her new favorite view of the city. From up here, she could see the park, the Empire State building, and the Hudson river. Three of her favorite things to look at in the darkness of the night.

“Thank you for cleaning, darling. I really appreciated it. And I really appreciate you cooking dinner.”

Therese jumped up, “Oh, I almost forgot! Stay here, I’ll get our plates.” She returned with two large plates and forks.

They ate silently then continued to drink their wine and talk.

“What do you want to do this weekend?” Therese asked.

“I don’t have any particular plans. Maybe we can do dinner with Abby or something? Not sure if Rindy would like to tag along but she might.” Carol laughed to herself. “Hell, maybe we can make it a triple date with us, Rindy, Jessica, Abby, and Gen!”

“That actually might be fun. We can do something stupid, like mini golf, after dinner!”

Carol smiled at the brunette’s enthusiasm “That sounds lovely, dear. I can’t wait to kick your ass at mini golf.”

\----

All six of them agreed on the plan the next day. Rindy and Jessica arrived at the apartment after school. Therese and Carol were already there, getting ready.

“Hey girls, how was school?”

“Fine.” Rindy rolled her eyes and took Jessica to her room.

“Door open, please!” Carol yelled down the hall and walked back into the bathroom. “I don’t know why she has to be so hateful sometimes.”

“She’s sixteen, Carol. It’s like a requirement.” Therese said, putting on her lipstick.

“Mmm, it’s not every day my baby puts on lipstick.” She looked her up and down. “You look hot.”

Therese gave her a wary look, “I do?” She saw Carol move to shut their bathroom door and stand directly behind her. She let her hands trail up and down the brunette’s sides.

“You do, my love. These jeans show off your…ass-ets.” She squeezed Therese’s backside. She felt the younger woman wiggle her hips, looking for more contact. She reached around to cup her breasts. “You look good enough to eat.”

“You’ve got time for a snack before we go” Therese smirked at her in the mirror. Carol let her hand travel down the taut stomach, unbuttoning her pants and sliding her hand down the front of Therese’s panties. Never breaking eye contact.

“Yeah? You want it? You want me to fuck you right here?” She was slowly rubbing Therese through the fabric of her panties.

Therese dropped her head back on Carol’s shoulder. “Yes.”

“You want me to throw you up on this counter and taste you? Let my hot. Wet. Tongue. Devour your sweet little pussy?” She pushed harder against Therese.

“Yes, Carol. Please!” She could tell Therese was getting closer and wetter.

“You want me to lick you until you’re begging for more? Then suck on your clit until you come in my mouth? Is that what you want, baby?”

Therese was holding Carol’s hand on her breast, eyes closed, “God, yes Carol. I want it!” Carol pulled her hand away and spun the younger woman around, pushing her up against the sink. She moved in closer, until she was millimeters from Therese’s lips.

“Payback is a bitch, darling.” She walked out of the room, leaving Therese in shock.

_Oh, here we go. She wants to play? I can play her game._


	19. Win or Lose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading (:

Carol, Therese, Rindy, and Jessica arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a large round table. Carol kept eyeing Therese, waiting for her to crack and give in but she was holding her ground, firmly.

“So, Jessica, how’s the student council campaign going?” The brunette asked.

“Oh, I won! I forgot to tell you.” Jessica exclaimed.

“That’s great!” Therese responded. She noticed Rindy reach over and grab Jessica’s hand that was on her lap.

“Yeah, she was great during her speech!” Rindy beamed.

Jessica rolled her eyes, “She keeps calling me Mrs. President!” They all laughed.

Abby and Gen finally waltzed in. “Sorry we’re late, ladies. There was…traffic.”

“Abby, dear, I can see lipstick on your neck.” Carol said eyeing Gen.

Abby reached up to wipe it away, blushing. “Oops. Okay, so no traffic. What are we drinking?” She ordered a whiskey on the rocks and a vodka soda for Gen. “Don’t act like you and Therese have never been late for the same reason!”

“Abby! Gross. That’s my mom.” Rindy cringed.

“C’mon, kid. You really think your mom is being celibate when her girlfriend moved in?”

Therese blushed and felt Carol’s hand come to rest on her thigh, squeezing lightly.

“Stop it stop it stop it!” Rindy held her hands over her ears.

“Okay, fine. You two been staying celibate?” She pointed between Rindy and Jessica. They both blushed. “Mhmm, that’s what I thought.”

Carol and Therese shared a look. Obviously, they didn’t condone teenagers going at it, but they couldn’t really prevent it from happening.

Therese looked toward Gen, “Hi, Gen. We haven’t been properly introduced. It’s lovely to meet you.” She laid her arm on Gen’s shoulder, not going unnoticed by either of their girlfriends.

“Nice to meet you too, Therese! I heard you thought I was after your woman the night of Abby’s party.”

“Well, I was given some incorrect information seconds before that, so you’ll have to excuse my behavior.” She let her hand slowly slide off Gen’s shoulder.

Just then, their waitress came over. She was a petite blonde girl with her long, straight hair in a pony tail. She scanned the table and smiled at Therese, who was smiling back.

“Are you ladies ready to order?”

She wrote down every one’s order then got to Therese, still smiling.

“Yes.” Therese looked at her name tag. “Darcy. What do you recommend?”

“Well, what do you like?” Darcy responded.

“Hmm, I want something in the seafood family. Maybe the surf and turf. Is it good here?” She beamed up at the waitress.

“It’s amazing! The steak just melts in your mouth.” She made a point to emphasis ‘mouth’. Therese felt Carol’s grip on her thigh become tighter.

“Perfect.” She smiled at Darcy. “Oh, and we will share some oysters to start.” She pointed between her and Carol. For two reasons, one to make sure Darcy knew she didn’t have a chance. Two, the oysters were sure to get Carol hot.

Abby was watching Carol for any reaction whatsoever, but she got nothing. “Therese, what the fuck was that?”

“What do you mean?” She sipped her wine.

“You were totally flirting with her!” Abby said a little too loud for her liking.

“Oh, I was not. And even so, Carol hasn’t let go of my leg since we sat down so I think she got the message that I’m unavailable.” She turned to see a dark-eyed Carol staring back at her. Carol’s possessiveness was kicking in and she loved it.

\----

After dinner, they all took a cab to the mini golf course. It turned into a game between couples, who could get the better score. It also turned into a game of which couple could complete the course first. Carol was not interested in anything except making Therese cave.

Before they started, Therese pulled Abby and Gen aside as Carol was getting their clubs and balls. Rindy and Jessica started ahead of them.

“I have a weird request. Very weird.” “Go ahead.” Abby said, knowing where this was going.

“Do you guys mind if I sort of…act like I’m trying to hit on Gen? I know that’s insane, but Carol thinks she can get to me and I want to prove it’s the other way around. I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, Gen. I’ll just…you know, grab your arm, or pretend to be giving you golfing tips. That kind of thing.”

Gen burst into laughter. “I don’t mind. I think this is going to be fun.” “Therese, you have no idea who you are messing with. Carol can be evil when it comes to getting what she wants.”

“Don’t worry, Abby. I know what I’m getting myself into.” She smirked, and Carol came back to join them. 

“What’s so funny over here?” Carol handed everyone their clubs.

“Oh, nothing. I was just telling them about a client I had in the studio the other day. I told you about him, right? The guy with the weird face tattoos?” She rubbed her hand up and down Carol’s back.

“Uhh…yeah. I think I remember that. Okay, are we ready to start?”

The four of them started off for the course. Therese shot first, then Gen.

“Ugh, I can’t do this right. These little clubs are difficult.”

Therese stepped behind Gen, grabbing her hips, “Here, let me help you. Put your right hand above your left and position your hips like this.” She pulled and pushed Gen’s body until she was in the best position. She swung the club and got the ball in on the first try.

“Thanks, Therese!”

“No problem! Oh, wait, stop. You have an eyelash.” Therese leaned in so close that Gen could feel her breath on her skin. She pulled the non-existent eyelash away and held it in her hand, holding it up for Gen. “Blow it. Make a wish!”

Carol was frozen, watching this scene play out. She knew Therese was trying to beat her at her own game but she would fight to the death. She knew exactly how to turn her lover on and she would pull out all the stops.

They continued through the course. Carol watched carefully as Therese would touch Gen’s arm, laugh at everything she said, and give her ‘golf tips’.

By the 9th hole, Carol was tired of watching and decided to step up her game.

“It’s getting hot out here.” She pulled off her blazer to reveal a very thin, very tight, tank top. Therese turned around and quickly noticed she was not wearing a bra.

_Fuck. Abby was right. I don’t know who I’m messing with. Are her nipples hard?!_

Gen and Abby walked a little ahead of them to the next hole. Carol pulled Therese by the belt loop and kissed her, intensely.

“You trying to make me jealous, baby?”

“I would never, Carol! Just being friendly.” She winked and pulled away to take her turn to putt.

She adjusted her jeans, pulling then a little lower without anyone noticing. She made sure Carol was watching when she dropped her ball. She bent over, knowing he top of her bright red thong was showing, and leaned down to position the ball on the tee. She then arched her back a little more than usual to hit the ball.

Carol’s mouth was watering and she could feel her nipples become more erect. Straining against her tank top.

They were finally on the last hole. Therese was waiting her turn and Carol came up right next to her, letting her breasts rub against the younger woman’s arm.

Therese rolled her eyes, “Do you really think that will work?” She stared straight ahead, watching as Gen and Abby struggled with their swings.

“No, I know you better than that.” Carol leaned in to whisper in Therese’s ear. “Don’t you want to give in, baby? Don’t you want to go home and let me finish what I started? Remember? When my fingers were rubbing your pussy and you were begging me to fuck you on the counter?” She leaned in even closer, her lips brushing against the brunette’s ear now. “Don’t you want to feel how wet I am? You have been making me so wet all night. Don’t you want to taste it?”

“I have to pee” Therese said abruptly and ran to the bathroom.

Abby turned around “What was that?”

Carol gave her a wicked smile. “Me winning.”

“Well, we’re done. We can drop Jessica off and Rindy can stay at my place, if you want.” Abby suggested.

“That would be amazing. Thank you! Now, I have to um…” She pointed in the direction of the restrooms.

“Go ahead. I won’t tell your daughter why she’s having to stay at my house. You owe me.”

Carol kissed her on the cheek and hugged both women before running off. She found Therese leaned over the bathroom sink, splashing water on her face.

“Getting a little too hot, darling?” Carol leaned on the wall.

The brunette patted her face dry with paper towels. “No. I’m fine.” She stared at herself in the mirror, fixing her makeup. Carol came up behind her, just like she did at home earlier. Her breath was hot on Therese’s neck.

“You sure? I’m not making you hot?”

“No, Carol.”

“Hmm, what are you thinking…” her voice dropped an octave, “…baby.”

The younger woman swallowed hard, trying to control herself. She flipped around so her face was inches away from Carol’s. “I’m thinking…I’m thinking…” Carol raised her eyebrow. “Ugh! I’m thinking you win, okay? You win. I can’t take it anymore.” She grabbed the older woman’s face and kissed her hard. She pushed her tongue into her mouth and pulled her closer. Carol’s hands pulled her by the hips, grinding herself against her.

The blonde finally pulled away, “Baby, as much as I would love to keep my promise and fuck you on the counter, I’d rather not do it in a public restroom. Let’s go home.” She kissed her once more.

“But I really don’t think I can be quiet once we’re home. I don’t want to scar Rindy for life!”

Carol kissed her again, “Abby took her to her house.” She leaned in, kissing below Therese’s ear, “You can scream my name all night long, baby.” She licked up the shell of the brunette’s ear.

\----

The cab ride home was excruciating. Carol was rubbing her hand up and down Therese’s thigh. She could feel the heat coming from her center. She could feel it soaking her panties. All she could look at was Carol’s cleavage. 

_God, she gets sexier every day. How is that even possible?_

On the elevator, Carol pushed Therese against the wall and began kissing down her neck, cupping her breasts as she did so. The doors opened and they stumbled into the apartment, unable to take their hands off of one another. Carol locked the door and turned around with a look Therese hadn’t seen before. She backed the younger woman into the bedroom and closed the door.

“Get naked and wait for me.” Carol waltzed into the closet, closing the door behind her.

Therese quickly stripped and sat on the edge of the bed, astonished at how wet she truly was. When Carol emerged, she was stark naked and holding a pair of handcuffs along with a riding crop. Therese was sure she was ruining the duvet with her wetness.

Carol stood right in front of the brunette, “Give me your hands.” She started securing the cuffs on Therese’s wrists. “Now…we can stop at any time. If you don’t like what I do to you, just tell me. Okay?”

She looked up at the older woman, “Okay.”

“Lean over the side of the bed.” Therese hesitated. “Now, Therese.” The brunette quickly jumped up and leaned over the bed, propping herself up on her elbows. She felt the riding crop slide against her ass. “Mmm, you are very wet, darling. Is that from me or those women you were flirting with?” She lightly tapped the crop on Therese’s cunt.

“Ahh, it’s from you!” Carol continued sliding the crop up and down Therese’s back, ass, and the backs of her thighs.

“Did you enjoy teasing me like that, baby? Making me jealous?”

Therese laughed a little. “I did, actually.”

“Really? You enjoyed acting like a little slut in front of me like that? Well, I think you should be punished, don’t you?”

“Fuck…yes.” Therese wiggled her ass, trying to feel the leather against her skin.

Carol pulled the crop back and slapped it on the younger woman’s cheeks twice. She cried out, grinding herself on the mattress as a reflex.

“Do you like that, baby?”

“Yes, Carol. I love it. Keep going.”

She smacked Therese’s ass six more times. There were red marks beginning to form. She dropped the crop on the floor and began massaging them. “That’s all I want to do, darling. I need to taste you right now.” Carol dropped to her knees and inhaled the intoxicating sent in front of her. Therese wasn’t expecting Carol to go down on her from this position but she wasn’t complaining. “Mmm, you _really_ enjoyed your punishment” She let her fingers rub Therese’s wetness along her cunt.

The younger woman groaned, clasping her hands together as she could not grab on to anything else with her wrists cuffed. She inhaled sharply when she felt Carol’s flat tongue swipe from her clit to her entrance. She then felt it slide inside of her. “Fuck!” She pushed back to force Carol’s tongue in deeper.

Carol pulled her face away, “Uh-uh, be patient or you _definitely_ won’t get to cum.” She dropped her tongue back into the silky warmth, then pulling back and plunging right back in a few times. She pulled it out and ran up to Therese’s clit, flicking it with her tongue. Causing the brunette to jerk her hips. She pulled away and stood up, giving Therese’s ass a light slap, knowing it would sting. “Stay just like that. I’ll be right back.”

Therese knew exactly what Carol was going to grab. Or put on, rather. However, she was surprised when she heard a faint vibrating sound instead of the buckles of a harness.

The blonde came back and slowly started running a small vibrator along Therese’s back. She leaned over her to whisper in her ear, “You going to be a good girl for me and ask my permission before you cum?”

Therese could barely breathe. She had seen Carol’s dominant side but nothing like this. It was mesmerizing. She felt like she was having an out of body experience. She shook her head to answer Carol’s question then she felt the tiny bullet travel down to her soaked cunt. She jumped at the sensation, different from the soft tongue that was just there.

Carol held the vibrator firmly against Therese’s clit, knowing it would bring her to the edge, quickly. She moved it a little, creating a rhythm. She could see the sweat forming on Therese’s back, smiling at the way she was desperately trying not to move her hips.

“God damn it! I’m…so…ah. Carol, I’m close. I need to…” Carol stopped the vibrator instantly.

“On the bed. On your back.” Therese obliged. “Hands above your head and don’t you dare move them.” She straddled the brunette and brought her lips centimeters above hers. “You need to come so badly, don’t you baby?” Therese gave her a nod, her lips closed tightly.

“Say it. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you’ve been picturing me doing all night long.”

She tilted her head back, moving her hips to try and rub against Carol’s hot center. Handcuffs hitting the headboard. “Carol, I…just fuck me. Please!”

“Darling, you know me well enough to know ‘fuck me’ isn’t going to get me to spring into action.”

Therese sat up, her hands dropping between them. The cool metal brushed against Carol’s cunt, causing her to gasp. The brunette looked her dead in the eyes, “Carol. I need you. I’ve been thinking about your mouth on me all day. My cunt is absolutely dripping. I want to feel your tongue inside me. I want you to take my clit in your mouth and—”

Carol cut her off by throwing her down on to the bed and quickly descending her body. She immediately sucked Therese’s throbbing clit into her mouth, circling it with her tongue.

“Ahh! Yes. Just like that. Oh my god!” Therese was writhing underneath her. She trapped her thighs under her arms, holding her in place. She moved her tongue to Therese’s entrance, letting her fingers take over on the hardened clit. She stuck her tongue into the wet heat, as far as it would go.

After a few pumps of her tongue, her fingers still circling and pulling, she curled her tongue and hit the spot that drove Therese wild.

"I need to, Carol! I'm about to cum!"

"Cum for me, baby" Her voice was raspy, sending a shockwave through Therese. 

The brunette began convulsing underneath her, grabbing the pillow with her cuffed hands just trying to ground herself to something. Carol continued her assault even after feeling a warm rush of liquid hit her tongue.

“Carol!” Therese screamed her name. “Mmm ahhh!!” She was grinding herself on Carol’s tongue, knowing another orgasm was seconds way. Not caring that she was told to keep her hands still, she reached down to push Carol’s head closer, pulling her hair at the same time.

“Carol, use…move your hands away. I just want your tongue.” The blonde removed her fingers and let her tongue flick Therese’s clit back and forth. “Yes! Mmm yeah.” She grazed her teeth across the nub before sucking on it.

“God damn—ah! Carol! Yes! Right…” Another earth-shattering orgasm coursed it’s way through Therese’s body. Her back arched and her toes curled. Carol softly licked up and down her cunt, bringing her down from the high.

Carol crawled up the younger woman’s body. She unlocked the handcuffs and let her curl into her taller body. She stroked her brown hair and kissed her sweaty forehead.

“I'm right here, baby. Just close your eyes.”


	20. In Sync

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving with out ladies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW so sorry for taking so incredibly long with this chapter! Life got in the way.   
> Thank you all so much for your kind messages, encouraging me to continue. Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now. Tell me what you think of this one!

Carol came home to find both Rindy and Therese curled up on the couch. Each one on either side of the L shaped couch.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Therese groaned and rolled on her back, looking up at Carol. “Ugh. We synced up. We both got our periods and we’re miserable.”

“Shh! I have a headache!” Rindy turned over, pulling the pillow over her ears.

“Aww, aren’t you two cute. I’ll make you some dinner.” Carol changed into pajamas and began making vegetable soup. Comfort food is what you need when you’re in pain like this.

She dished it out and came to sit in between the two younger women. “What are we watching?” They both shimmied up, so their heads were resting on Carol’s lap.

“Some documentary about sea turtles. I don’t know. I keep falling asleep. Thank you for the food, babe.”

The three of them sat there for a few hours, Carol running her hands through their hair, scratching their scalps as she went.

\----

The next morning, Therese laid in bed on her phone, answering emails. Carol was already dressed and sat next to her, reading the paper.

“Have I ever told you how cute you are in your glasses?” Therese said as she leaned over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek.

“You haven’t.” Carol winked at the brunette. “Come on, go get ready. We have to take Rindy to Harge’s.”

Therese rolled into Carol’s side, nuzzling against her hip. “But it’s so far! Where is her car?”

“She dropped it at Harge’s over the weekend when she was at Abby’s. They don’t live far from each other.” Therese still didn’t move. “I’ll buy you lunch at my favorite diner if you get moving.”

She finally got up and headed for the shower.

 

Carol ran into Rindy’s room. “Hey, Rin, do you have a minute?”

“Ugh, mom. I’m in so much pain. Why do cramps hurt so much?”

“Honey, childbirth hurts much worse, just keep that in mind and be glad you got your period instead of a baby.” Carol laughed to herself since Rindy is currently dating a girl. “Anyway, I need to ask you something.”

“OK, shoot.”

“Well…I don’t quite know how to say it. Um…you know I would never do anything you weren’t comfortable with. I don’t want to bring anyone into our life that you don’t approve of. I…well…”

“For god’s sake, spit it out!” Rindy exclaimed.

“You sound like me! I was wondering how you felt about…me…asking Therese to…marry me…”

Rindy jumped up on her knees. “Are you serious?? Oh my god! Yes! I would love that! Yes yes yes! This is so great! When? How? Where?”

Carol threw her hands up in the air. “Whoa whoa. Calm down, sweetheart. I-I was thinking about New Years Eve. You know, start the year off with the person you want to spend it with. That’s the saying right?”

“Yes. How are you going to do it? Is Abby doing her normal party?”

“Abby is hosting a party, but I don’t think that’s really Therese’s scene. Last time, she wasn’t very comfortable. I was thinking of taking her to LA. When you and I went, I told her I would take her sometime. I thought it might be cute to take her hiking and propose there. What do you think?”

Rindy glared at Carol. “Mom. No. That is so lame. You have to do better than that.”

“Well, then, what do you suggest? I’ve never done this before! And your father didn’t exactly sweep me off my feet with his proposal!”

“Okay, let me think. Hmm…LA is good. I think she would like that.” Rindy held her chin in her hand. “But it has to be better than some hiking trail. You will be all sweaty and gross.”

Carol smiled to herself, remembering the selfies she sent Therese when her and Rindy were on the trails. “Okay, okay. We’ll figure it out later! She’s probably out of the shower by now. Get dressed so we can go to your dad’s!”

 

The three of them jumped in Carol’s Audi and headed for New Jersey. The drive was about 45 minutes.

Rindy was typing away on her phone, planning proposal ideas for her mother.

“Rin, what on earth are you typing so frantically for? I can hear your keyboard clicking from up here!”

Rindy’s eyes met her mothers in the rear-view mirror. “Uh, it’s Jessica. Yeah, she is arguing with her mom and I’m just trying to talk her through it.”

“That’s good. How’s it going with you two?” Therese settled back into her seat, letting her hand rest on Carol’s thigh.

“Uh, good. Fine.” Rindy went back to her phone.

Therese rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her girlfriend. “I guess that’s all I’m going to get out of her.”

Carol laughed, “Yes, darling. Sorry, she’s glued to that phone.”

“Hey, tomorrow, can we go to the McElroy’s? Since we’re not doing anything for Thanksgiving.”

“Well, Abby invited us over to eat with her and Gen. Her and I always do a ‘leftover party’. That’s what we called it in college. We would meet up and eat the leftovers from our family Thanksgiving dinners. But that’s not until later. What time is the McElroy’s shindig?”

“Um…3 o’clock I think. But I have to take some of Nora’s leftovers to The Flower Garden. I do that every year. But we can keep some for Abby’s!”

“Perfect.” She smiled at the brunette. “Our first Thanksgiving.” She felt Therese squeeze her leg and saw her dimples come to life.

\----

The next day, Therese and Carol made their way over to the McElroy’s. Carol made a sweet potato pie and Therese made spiked eggnog.

Everyone was chatting in the living room. The entire family was there, including people Therese hadn’t seen since she was adopted. She saw Carol in the kitchen talking with Nora and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Thank you so much for having me! Not being with Rindy for the holidays is hard sometimes.”   
  
“Nonsense. You’re practically family now! Maybe next year you can bring her with you.”

Carol smiled wide, the though of merging their families made her heart swell. “I think she would love that.”  
  
“As long as you keep my girl happy, you’re welcome here anytime.” Nora gave Carol a tight hug.

“I plan on it. I’d be a fool to let her go!”

“Yes, you would!” Nora winked at her. “Now let’s go eat!”

When Carol came out of the kitchen, Therese grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling her down the long hallway. “You _would_ be a fool to let me go. I’m a catch.”

“You’re so cocky. But I love you anyway.” She kissed the younger woman’s head.

“I realized I never showed you my old room when we were here last.” She pulled Carol through a door along the left side of the hallway. It was a small room, but it had a great view of the front yard. There was a small desk in front of the window with a tiny chair. “This was Phil’s when he was younger. He let me have it when he went off to college.”

Carol could just picture a young (well…younger) Therese, sitting at this desk, doing her homework or daydreaming like she so often does. She stared out of the window, imagining the scene. Therese circled her waist from behind and rested her head on Carol’s shoulder.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I am so happy.” She turned in Therese’s arms and kissed her.

“Me too.” Therese stood on her toes to meet Carol’s lips. “You know, I’ve never fooled around in this room.” She wiggled her eyebrows at the older woman.

“I thought you had your first girl kiss in here?”

“Right, but that was just a kiss. I think I need to show this room some action. I wasn’t exactly a player in high school.”

“Darling, the entire family is right outside that door.”

“So? That’s what makes it exciting.” She squeezed Carol’s ass and began kissing her neck.

“We need to…oh god. Baby, we need to go eat. They’re going to wonder where…where we are.” She was arching her neck as a reflex. Therese bit down on the exposed skin causing her to moan.

“Shh, you don’t want anyone to hear you, do you?” Therese let her hand travel down to the buttons of Carol’s pants. She was stopped by manicured hands.

“No. You’re not going to fuck me, standing up, in your childhood bedroom! Especially with everyone out there.” She laughed, trying to ignore her own arousal.

Therese pouted her lips. “Come on, Carol. Live a little.”

The older woman rolled her eyes and strolled out of the room. Leaving her girlfriend very horny and very unsatisfied.

They all sat down at the large dining room table. Therese and Carol were across from Dannie and Louise.

“So, T, how’s the new digs? You’re an upper east sider now!” Dannie smirked.

“I’ll always be a Brooklyn girl at heart. But, it’s great. I finally got all of my stuff put away.”

Carol piped in, “She made me get rid of half my closet!”

“Because you had stuff that you haven’t worn in literal decades! You don’t need your high school prom dress, babe. I’m sorry, it’s just not necessary.” Therese let her arm rest on the back of Carol’s chair.

“What if Rindy wanted it?” Carol was trying to defend her hoarding habits.

“Yeah, Rindy totally wants to wear a lime green prom dress from ’99.” Therese rolled her eyes.

“Okay, other than your clothing disagreements, you two are living together alright?” Dannie tried to take the reins of the conversation again.

“We also have pillow disagreements. But, yes. I love living with Carol and Rindy.” She smiled at her girlfriend, who winked back at her.

“Yeah, Therese is alright. I think I’ll keep her.”

\----

After leaving the Thanksgiving dinner, Carol and Therese dropped some food off at the home. They stayed a while to help dish some out to the kids before heading off to Abby’s.

Abby swung the door open, clearly tipsy, “Well, how the hell are ya? Come in!” She kissed both of them on the cheek and lead them to the living room to join Gen.

“Hey, Gen. Good to see you again.” Therese sat down next to the redhead, taking the wine she offered.

“Oh no. You two aren’t going to start your flirting game again, are you?” Carol gave her girlfriend a daring look.

“They better not! I have plans for Gen later that she doesn’t want to jeopardize.” Abby was being very blunt but, then again, she normally was.

“You can calm down, Carol. Do I need to remind you how much you clearly enjoyed my little game?” She stared at the blonde from across the room.

Carol felt a wave of heat travel through her body and settle between her legs. She swallowed hard. “Fair enough, darling.”

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but we are stuffed. I say we skip the food and just keep drinking. Yeah?”

Everyone agreed. They started a fire and sat around sharing awful Thanksgiving stories.

“Oh my, Abby, do you remember the year my parents threw that big party for absolutely no reason? We were what, 15?”

“Yes! We stole a bottle of vodka from the bar and snuck out to the hot tub!” Abby laughed, directing her attention to Therese and Gen. “First of all, the vodka was awful. It was some cheap brand her parents had on the bottom shelf. We figured they wouldn’t notice if we took that one. Everyone else was inside so we ran out to the hot tub which was maybe 10 feet from the back porch. All the lights were off, so we decided to skinny dip since neither one of us had done it before!”

Carol picked up the story, “Well, about 10 minutes later, my parents decided to move the entire party to the backyard! They turned on every single light and the entire neighborhood saw us bare-ass naked!”

Everyone was in tears, laughing at this point.

Carol made her way into the kitchen to get another whiskey. Therese followed, after seeing Abby and Gen not so casually sneak off to the bedroom.

“Did they run off already?” Carol looked at her watch. “Wow, they lasted until midnight. That’s a record.” She turned and leaned against the island. “You ready to go home, baby?” Her eyes were a little glassy and Therese could tell she was drunk.

“Yes, but I think I’d better drive.” She kissed the blonde who held her close and intensified the kiss.

Therese tried to pull away, but Carol held her firmly by the hips. “I need you, baby.”

The brunette let a moan slip from her lips. “Let’s go home. Please.”

“No. I want you right now.” Carol was kissing all over Therese’s face and neck.

“You told me no earlier so I’m telling you no.” She smirked up at the blonde. “I will do whatever you want as soon as we get home.” She turned and made her way towards the car.

 

 

The entire car ride home, Carol was staring at Therese from the passenger seat. She let her hand travel up and down the younger woman’s thigh that was exposed from the skirt she was wearing.

“You are so sexy. Do you know that?” Carol slurred her words a little.

Therese chucked, “Thank you, Carol. You are sexy too.”

“No, but I mean you are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen! Do you know that?”

“I find that hard to believe, but thank you, baby.” Therese kept her eyes on the road.

“Did I ever tell you about the dream I had, the day that I met you?”

“No, you haven’t.”

Carol shifted in her seat, fully facing Therese now, her hand still moving along the exposed leg. “Well, that day, I actually saw you before you ever came into my office. I was standing at the copier. You didn’t see me because you were just taking in everything around you, with your big dough eyes. God, you were adorable. I watched you walk up to the front desk. Then, when whatever that receptionists name is walked you back to Cameron’s office, I ran to sit at my desk just in case he took you to meet me.”

“Yeah, I saw you when I went back there. All I could see was your hair, but my heart started racing and I didn’t know why!”

“Then when you came into my office…I saw you checking me out. You’re not very sly. You still aren’t.” She pinched Therese’s thigh. “Anyway, when I went to bed that night, I couldn’t stop seeing your face. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss you. I almost did, you know?”

“What?”

“Kiss you! When you were coming back to life, after you fainted, I almost leaned in to kiss you.”

“You should have.” Therese smirked.

“No. I didn’t want it to be like that. Our first kiss was much better than on some conference room floor.”

“You remember our first kiss?”

“Of course I do, sweetheart. It was on the front steps of your apartment. Then I almost fucked you in the hallway! I will never forget that.” She pushed her hand higher, up under Therese’s skirt. She could feel the heat radiating from in between the brunette’s legs.

“And then our phone call…” Therese blushed.

“Did you like that, baby?”

“Obviously. But I was so nervous to see you the next day. I was embarrassed.”

“Why, baby? It was one of the hottest things ever. To listen to you lose yourself like that…” Carol shivered. “I still think about it.”

“Well, I’ll admit, the night I met you I did some thinking of my own…” She smirked at Carol who leaned in closer, almost touching the brunette’s ear with her lips.

“Baby, did you touch yourself thinking about me?” She licked up the shell of Therese’s ear.

“Yes, yes I did.”

Carol growled at the statement.

Just then, they pulled into their apartment garage. They quickly gathered their things and raced upstairs.


	21. For The Rest Of My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day to make up for my lack of updating over the past few weeks!

Carol was sitting at her office desk searching for flights for their LA trip. Everything was incredibly expensive due to the holiday. She finally found a flight out at 9pm on December 30th.

She had been talking with Rindy, trying to plan a proposal that would blow Therese’s mind. They finally decided on something and Rindy emailed her an itinerary.

Dec 30—fly to LA. Check in to Fairmount Santa Monica.

Dec 31— 9am: breakfast in bed

 12pm: hike Hollywood hills

 1pm: shopping

 4pm: back to hotel to get ready

 6pm: leave hotel, alert hotel staff so they can set the room up

 7pm: dinner at CUT in Beverly Hills

 9pm: walk Santa Monica pier

 PROPOSAL ON THE BEACH!!!

 10/11pm: back to hotel, hotel staff will be told to have rose petals, champagne, and   strawberries waiting for you

 

Carol smiled, re-reading the list. She couldn’t believe it was all coming together. She still needed to purchase a ring. Rindy offered to help her pick one out but she thought it was something she needed to do on her own.

Just then, she saw Therese walking toward her office. Therese was hired by the firm again to film some depositions. She quickly closed the flight confirmation window and closed her email with the itinerary.

“Hey gorgeous!” Therese walked around to kiss Carol before taking a seat on the couch.

“Hello, darling. How long will you be here today?”

“Oh, just a couple hours. I’ll be done in time to grab lunch if you want.”

Carol just stared, smiling at her future fiancé. “I do. You look beautiful.”

“Ugh. I do not! I didn’t have time to finish my makeup.”

“Well if you wouldn’t set your alarm for 20 minutes before you have to leave, you would have enough time!” Carol rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I think you look great and I’m glad I get to see you today.” She shot Therese a wink.

The brunette came behind Carol and kissed her on the top of the head. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, just boring case files. I’m just organizing everything, so I don’t go insane when I’m trying to find information later. I think I can finish by lunchtime if you want to go home after that.”

Therese smiled in Carol’s hair, “I’d love that.”

\----

They walked to the diner across the street from CTA and split a sandwich and soup.

_I love this. I love how ‘married’ we act sometimes. I can’t wait to actually be married to this goddess. How soon is it to propose to someone? I know Carol would say yes but I don’t want to rush her._

“Darling, stop daydreaming and answer my question.”

“Oh. What did you ask me?”

“I asked if you had any errands to run or if we can just go home.” Carol shook her head and continued eating.

“Oh! No. No, we can go straight home.”

_I’m still not used to saying ‘home’ when I’m referring to the apartment. However, when I’m referring to Carol…it makes perfect sense._

 

 

They hung their purses and coats in the hall closet and changed into sweat pants. They curled up on the couch and put a movie on.

“I like this.” Therese broke the silence.

“You like what, dear?” Carol was reclined on the arm of the sofa with Therese tucked into her side.

“This. You and me watching a movie in the middle of the afternoon. It’s nice.” She propped her head up on Carol’s chest to look at her.

“I like it too, baby.”

“You know you only call me ‘baby’ when you’re turned on?”

“I do not! I call you baby all the time!” Carol defended.

“Exactly!! You’re always trying to get me in bed with that word.” She shivered. “It makes me weak and you know it.”

Carol chuckled. “I don’t mean to! You just…I am so in love with you. I want you all the time. You’ve turned me into a horny teenager!”

Therese laid her head back down. “Hey, I’m not complaining.”

Carol turned her head to whisper in the younger woman’s ear. “Good. Cause I plan on loving you for the rest of my life… _baby_ ” She said it in a sultry tone, causing Therese to shiver again.

“Something the matter, baby?” She smirked.

Therese slid on top of Carol, pressing her weight into the taller woman. “Make love to me, Carol.” She kissed her. “Slowly.”

Carol flipped them over and began kissing Therese passionately. Letting their lips get plump before poking her tongue out, sliding it across Therese’s lips, asking for permission to enter. When their tongues finally met, they both moaned softly. Carol was bobbing her head and rubbing the entire length of her body against her lover.

She sat up, straddling Therese and slowly removed her lover’s shirt and bra. Laying the brunette back down, Carol descended upon her breasts. Taking her sweet time, circling the rosy pink nipples. Sucking each one into her mouth for a few seconds at a time. She knew Therese had to be dripping because when she moved her legs to fall between the brunette’s, she felt a strong leg circle her waist and pull her closer.

“Baby stop rushing me. You said I could take my time.” Carol kissed down her taut stomach.

“I know but…okay, fine.” She relaxed her body and let her eyes fall shut.

Carol made her way back up to Therese’s neck and let her hand slip underneath the loose pants, finding the brunette absolutely soaked through her panties.

“Jesus, Therese.” She let her head hang, overwhelmed by the fact that she makes her girlfriend this wet. She rubbed two fingers over Therese’s panties slowly. Their breath and heart rates began to quicken.

“Carol, please touch me.”

“I am touching you” She smirked at Therese.

The brunette stared up at her, tears almost forming in her eyes. “Please don’t tease me right now. I’m desperate.” She leaned up to kiss her. “I need you.”

Carol slipped her hand down the front of Therese’s panties, sucking in a breath when she felt how warm her lover was. She easily entered Therese with two fingers and started a slow pace, in and out. She let her thumb dance across her clit, rubbing back and forth, matching the pace of her fingers.

Therese moaned and arched her back while Carol continued kissing and sucking her neck, definitely leaving a mark.

“I love you, baby.” That was all it took for Therese to tumble over the edge. Carol continued her movements until she was sure her girlfriend had come all the way down from her high. She pulled her hand from Therese’s pants and sucked the juices from her fingers.

Therese watched with dark eyes. “God. The things I want to do to you…”

“Enlighten me.” Carol stared down at Therese.

“Maybe later.” She smiled and closed her eyes, pretending to go to sleep.

“You’re evil.” Carol moved to spoon Therese from behind, her back against the couch cushions.

“I know. Take your shirt off, I don’t like when I can’t feel you.”

Carol obliged and draped a blanket over them before they drifted off to sleep.

 

 

Rindy walked into the apartment about an hour later to find her mom and Therese passed out on the couch.

“Oh my god, are you guys naked??” Rindy yelled, waking the women.

Carol shifted, causing the blanket to drop down a little.

“Oh my god! Mom! Y’all are gross. I’m going to my room and I will never be sitting on that couch ever again!” She stopped off to the other end of the house.

Therese and Carol started laughing so hard. They grabbed their clothes and ran off to their bedroom.


	22. Therese's Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, sorry! But the next one will be longer!

Carol was home while Therese and Rindy were shopping for Christmas presents. She had already finished her shopping because, of course, she ordered everything online instead of standing in long checkout lines.

She was cleaning up in the bedroom when she found some pictures in Therese’s bed side table. They were in the bottom drawer, underneath a book Therese would never finish reading. They were black and white printed photos.

Upon further investigation, Carol realized they were photos of her. There were at least 10. Some were shots of her sleeping, naked, in bed. Some of her getting out of the shower, cooking dinner, just doing things around the house. The last one in the stack included Therese. It was a shot of Carol asleep on Therese’s chest with her kissing Carol’s forehead. It was beautiful and brought tears to her eyes.

 _I wonder what she’s doing with these_ Carol thought. She wanted to lay them out on the bed and tell her girlfriend that she found them but didn’t want to ruin a potential surprise.

 

Meanwhile, Therese and Rindy were deep into a Macy’s department store. Rindy was looking for a nice sweater to get her mother and Therese was looking for something for Carol as well but what do you get a woman that already has everything? And has the money to get whatever she doesn’t have!

“T, come look at this!” Rindy called for her. “Do you think mom would like this red sweater?”

Therese smiled, picturing her lover wearing this on a lazy Sunday morning. “I think she would love it!”

“Great! I’ll get this then. I think I’m also going to get her a bottle of her favorite perfume.”

“You have money for that? That stuff is expensive! I’d tell her to stop buying it, but I love how it smells!”

“Gross, Therese. I don’t want to think about you smelling my mom.”

Therese rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Anyway, yes! I have saved up my allowance for Christmas this year. I got my dad and Susan a cooking class for two and I already bought your present.”

“Rindy you did not have to get me anything!!”

“Yes, I did! You’re like my second mom!”

Therese was frozen. _She thinks of me as her second mom?_ Tears started to sting her eyes, threatening to fall.

“Oh, don’t get mushy. Come on, I still have to get Jessica something.” She pulled Therese by the wrist.

\----

The pair arrived back at the apartment, finding Carol cooking dinner and putting the Christmas tree up. They both ran off to their rooms to hide their presents.

Rindy stayed in her room to wrap her gifts and get them under the tree ASAP. Therese came in, circling Carol’s waist from behind.  

“Hello, darling. Did you two have fun shopping?”

Therese rested her forehead between Carol’s shoulder blades. “No. You’re the hardest person to shop for.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to get me anything” She turned around, still in Therese’s arms. “I just want to be with you on Christmas.”

“Right, but I know you’re going to get me something ridiculous because…you’re you. So, I have to at least try.” She kissed Carol’s back and moved to pour herself a glass of wine.

Carol smiled to herself, thinking of the look on Therese’s face when she surprises her with their trip.

“Anyway…” She handed Carol her glass to take a sip. “What are you making?”

“Chicken parm. Do you like that?” Carol turned back to check the pan, still drinking Therese’s wine.

“Yum. Yes, I love that. I’m going to do some research on my laptop while you finish up.” She eyed Carol. “Um, this is mine.” She stole her almost empty glass back and made her way to the couch.

She began searching on Pinterest for cute proposal ideas. _Why am I searching for this?!_ She thought a little harder. _But it does feel right…It doesn’t hurt to get an idea in place, right?_

“Dinner is ready!” Carol yelled. The three of them decided to bring their plates into the living room and catch up on their television shows.

\----

Later that night, after Carol had already fallen asleep, Therese made her way to Rindy’s room.

“Hey, kid, you got a minute?”

“Yeah, come in.” Rindy closed her history book and put it to the side.

“So…I wanted to ask you something. Nothing is decided yet but I wanted to check with you before I let my mind wander.”

“What is it, T?”

“Well…I was wondering how you’d feel…if…well, if I had your permission to…propose to your mother…?”

Rindy tried to suppress her laughter so she didn’t ruin her mom’s proposal. “Therese, of course.”

“Really?!” Therese’s eyes began to water.

“Absolutely! Are you kidding? I would love nothing more than you two getting married!”

Therese tried to wipe her tears away. “Ugh I love you, kid.”

“I love you too! When are you going to do it?” Rindy said as she was pulling away from their tight hug.

“I was thinking of doing some big romantic gesture for her Christmas present. You’ll be at your dad so it’ll be easy to get her out of the house. I have a plan to do something at the studio. I might need your help with it.”

Rindy smiled wider than ever before. “I would love to!”


	23. Pictures of You

It was Christmas Eve morning and Therese and Rindy left Carol at home with the excuse of ‘last minute Christmas shopping’.

They had been at the studio for about an hour now. Therese needed help hanging long string from the ceiling with tiny clips at the end. Since Rindy was almost the same height of Carol, she was being used as a human ruler. Therese wanted the clips to be about eye level.

“Okay, I think that’s all the string you have. Where are the pictures you want to hang?” Rindy said, looking around the room.

“I will do that later. I promise you do NOT want to see those pictures.” Therese said laughing.

“Gross.” Rindy rolled her eyes. “Anything else you need my help with? How are you going to get her here?”

“I just need to adjust the projector. Can you tell me when it looks good?” Therese began changing the settings. “I am going to come here tomorrow afternoon, telling her I need to edit something, then shoot her a text to meet me here for dinner. Hopefully she won’t protest!” They both laughed.

\----

The next day, Rindy was at Harge’s. She would be there until Therese and Carol got back from LA, which Therese still didn’t know about.

The pair was still asleep in bed when morning became lunch time. Carol finally woke up, rolled over, and began placing light kisses on Therese’s naked shoulders.

“Mmm, good morning, Carol.”

“Morning, baby.”

“Oh, no, I hear it in your voice. I have to go to the studio, I can’t have sex with you right now” Therese laughed.

Carol flung herself on to her back, “Fine. You’re no fun.”

The brunette rolled over to kiss her girlfriend, _soon to be fiancé_ , on the cheek. “Babe, I’ll just be a couple of hours. Then we can do our presents.” She moved up to Carol’s ear, “Then I’ll make you cum so much you’ll be begging me to stop.” Therese winked at her and walked into the bathroom.

\----

Therese was hard at work at the studio by the time 4pm rolled around. She was busy writing on the photos she planned to hang. She also brought the couch from her office into the large studio space and pulled it to lay it flat like a bed. _I knew this feature would come in handy someday._

She decided to go home to change and bring Carol with her to the studio instead of having her meet there.

She walked through the door to find Carol asleep on the couch with an open book on her chest. She smiled and came to kneel next to her.

“Carol.” She whispered and kissed the blonde’s forehead. She groaned and shifted her face closer to Therese’s. “Babe, wake up.” She kissed Carol’s lips and felt her push back. “Mmm, you’re faking. Come on, wake up!”

Carol opened her eyes to find Therese looking like she hadn’t slept in days. “Darling, why do you look so tired?”

“It doesn’t matter, get ready. We are leaving for dinner in an hour.” Therese made her way to the closet to get changed.

Carol came up behind her, “Where are we going? It’s Christmas day, nothing is open for dinner.”

“I know. I planned something special. Wear something comfy.” She kissed Carol’s cheek then went to put on some makeup.

 

Meanwhile, Dannie was dropping off the food Therese asked Nora to prepare. Since she wouldn’t be able to cook herself without Carol asking what it was for.

He shot Therese a text,

**Food is all set. I laid it out as best I could! Good luck, T!!! Call me tomorrow! -D**

**You guys are life savers! Thank you and tell Nora thank you! I’ll try to come by tomorrow. -T**

“Okay, I’m ready for…whatever you’re dragging me to.” Carol said.

She came to stand on her tiptoes and kiss Carol, smiling wide. “Don’t sound too excited.” She winked up at her.

\----

They arrived at the studio and Therese asked Carol to stand at the front desk until she came to retrieve her.

Therese ran into the back room and lit a couple candles, then started playing the playlist she created. It started off with ‘Easy Living’ by Billie Holiday. She gave the room another once over then decided she was ready.

Carol eyed her as she came back to the front, “What are you up to, darling?”

“Do you remember the first time you called me that?”

“I don’t actually.” Carol admitted.

Therese was behind her girlfriend, guiding her forward by the waist. “It was when I was coming back to life after fainting. I will never forget it.”

Carol opened the door at the end of the hall and audibly gasped. The room was filled with pictures hanging, candles, music. There was too much for Carol’s brain to register. She began looking at the pictures, recognizing a few of them.

She noticed writing on the back of the photos. She also noticed they were in a pattern. Kind of like a pathway leading to the other side of the room.

The first one was the shot of her and Rindy on a ferris wheel in Santa Monica with something on the back. **_When I knew I wanted to make you this happy._**

Carol flexing her muscles on the Hollywood Hill, **_When I knew you would be the death of me. LOOK AT YOU!_**

A shot of Carol asleep in Therese’s bed. **_After our first time…when I knew I could trust you with my life._**

A screenshot of Carol from a facetime call, curled up in a blanket while she was on the balcony of her LA hotel. **_When I knew I loved you because my heart was aching without you here._**

Carol sleeping on Therese’s office couch. **_This one is just adorable_**

The next one had two photos attached. The first one was a shot of Carol in court, talking to the jury. **_When I got to see you in action._** The second was Carol’s backside, in court. **_When I got carried away with my camera (;_**

Carol laughed out loud at the second picture.

Therese joined her in laughing “Yeah…sorry. You’re just too sexy and it needed to be captured.”

Carol continued along the makeshift path. The next photo she came to was of Rindy at her tennis tournament **_When we made it official_**

A shot of Carol changing in the studio, when she was helping Therese model clothes, **_When you finally saw what I see._**

 

Carol putting a ball at the mini golf course. **_Probably the most fun game I’ve ever played…and I’m not talking about the mini golf…_**

 

The next was a shot of Carol sitting by the fire during their camping trip. **_The day you said I love you_**

The second-to-last picture was Carol talking to Nora during Thanksgiving dinner. **_When I knew I wanted you to be a part of my family_**

Carol finally made it to the last picture and saw the bed and food set up in front of the projector. There were tears freely falling from her eyes.

The last photo was a simple one. It was a shot of Carol standing at the stove, cooking dinner, wearing leggings and a tank top, with her hair in a messy bun. The caption made her audibly sob.

**_When I knew I wanted to come home to you for the rest of my life.  
I have lived in plenty of houses, but nothing felt like home until you._ **

****

She turned around to hug Therese but found her on one knee looking up at her.

“Carolyn Elizabeth Ross” Therese grabbed her hands, “I have never met someone that made me happier than you do. From the moment I saw you I knew I wanted you. I feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about you.” They both laughed. “I love every single part of you including that beautiful daughter of yours. I would love nothing more than for you to be my wife and my family for the rest of my life.”

Therese pulled the ring out of her jacket pocket. Carol gasped at how beautiful it was.

“Carol, will you marry me?”

Carol leaned down to kiss Therese hard and ended up knocked both of them to the ground.

“Sorry, baby.” She kept kissing Therese’s plump lips.

“I’ll take that as a yes…?” Therese said hesitantly.

“Of course I’ll marry you!!!” She pulled back to look into her fiancé’s eyes. “I’m so in love with you.”

“I am crazy in love with you, Carol.” They kissed once more. “Okay, move, I’ve been waiting to put this ring on your finger for too long.

They sat up and Carol allowed her to slide the rose gold diamond ring on her left hand.

“Therese, this is stunning.” She stared at the ring which had a large stone, shinning from the candle light around the room. The band had little infinity symbols lined with smaller diamonds. It was almost identical to the one she picked out for Therese. Another reason why they were meant for each other.

They stared at one another for what felt like an eternity.

“Oh! I made dinner! Well…I had some help. Come on.” She stood up and lead Carol over to the makeshift bed that was covered in a fluffy white duvet.

Carol felt like she was in a trance. _How did she beat me to the proposal?_ She thought to herself.

“Get comfy, I’ll bring you your plate.”

Carol got under the covers and leaned back against the pillows. She began throwing her hair up into a bun to get it out of her face. When she turned to locate her purse that contained her hair tie, she felt warm lips on the back of her neck.

“On second thought, dinner can wait.” Therese growled into her ear.

She pushed Carol on to the bed, pulling a high-pitched laugh from the blonde.

They spent the rest of the night making love, forgetting dinner and the movie Therese had planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ring: https://www.shaneco.com/engagement-rings/infinity-engagement-rings/14k-rose-gold-infinity-diamond-engagement-ring/p/41074312


	24. The Future is Looking Bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIII GUYS! I cannot apologize enough for not updating sooner! My life has been nothing short of crazy! Thank you for your messages while I've been away. I am so happy you guys love this story so much. It is honestly so fun to write. I should have much more time to write after the new year. Tell me what you think of this one!!!

_Okay, this needs to be…yeah just like that. Perfect. You need to be…smoothed…ok done. Ugh, why is the lighting so bad??_

Therese was editing her latest photos on her laptop, on the plane to LA with a sleeping Carol on her shoulder.

_If Carol drools on my shirt, I swear to-_

Just then, the blonde began to stir and slowly opened her eyes. She tilted her head and smiled up at her fiancé.

_God, how does she look so good the second she wakes up?_

“What are you doing? I thought we said no work!” Carol sat up, staring at Therese’s screen.

The brunette gave her an apologetic look. “I know, but I had to get these done today…” She gave her best puppy dog eyes.

Carol rolled her eyes and picked up her magazine. “Fine. But no work when we land, ok?”

“Yes, dear.” She kissed the blonde on the cheek.

\----

They arrived to their hotel late that night. Equally exhausted.

Therese jumped in the shower which allowed Carol time to hide the ring and prepare for the next day. She hung her dinner clothes up to prevent any more wrinkles and placed the ring under her socks in her suitcase, hoping Therese didn’t look there.

She was already in her pajamas, under the covers, when the brunette came out of the bathroom. She texted Rindy letting her know they arrived safely.

“Baby, get in bed. We are hiking tomorrow, and I don’t want you complaining that I woke you up too early.” Carol patted the spot next to her in the king-sized bed.

Therese rolled her eyes, “I’m not that bad!” She crawled in next to Carol, wrapping her arm around the blonde’s stomach.

“We’ll see.” She kissed the younger woman’s forhead and drifted off to sleep.

\----

The next morning, Carol woke to the sound of rain on the window.

“Shit.” She whispered. Most of her plans called for the to be outside. She grabbed her phone and began looking for something for the to do. However, it was New Year’s Eve, and everything was booked. She found an indoor mini golf course but figured that wouldn’t be as fun as it sounded. Plus, they just did that a month or so ago. She also stumbled upon the science center but that’s not very romantic.

There was an escape room that looked fun but again, not romantic in the slightest and she would just end up getting frustrated that they couldn’t solve the puzzles.

She finally landed on an idea. A spa day! Thankfully, the hotel had a spa on campus, and they had 1 couples massage appointment available. Talk about lucky. She scheduled it for 11am.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door. “Room service.” Luckily, the noise didn’t wake the log next to her that was Therese.

Carol opened the door and allowed the bell boy to bring in their tray. She slipped him a $20 and lifted the covers off the plates to release the scent of cooked bacon and eggs.

She sat down and started giving Therese soft kisses on the cheeks. The brunette began to stir and laid her head on Carol’s lap.

“Why do you never let me sleep?”

She laughed, “Because, we have things to do! I got breakfast and we have an appointment at 11. Wake up!”

She carried the tray over to the bed and settled back in next to her fiancé. They ate quietly, watching mindless television, and occasionally feeding the other.

“You know, Rindy would be telling us how ‘gross’ we are if she were here.” Therese said, laughing.

“To be fair, we are being pretty mushy and gross this morning.” She smiled at the brunette and kissed her. “I like it.”

“Me too. What’s this ‘appointment’ you’re taking me to?” Therese said, sipping her coffee.

“Well…we were going to go hiking that trail Rindy and I did the last time we were here. But, as you can see, it’s pouring outside. So, instead, we are getting a couples massage!”

“Ahh, mother nature is on my side yet again.” Therese winked at the blonde.

\----

After their massage, they had a light lunch in the hotel bar and decided to just lay around until their dinner reservation.

They were curled up in bed, watching a tv movie.

“I’m sorry my plans didn’t work out, baby. I had such a fun day planned.” Carol said, running her hands through thick brown hair.

“I’m sure you did, but I love this just as much. Plus, when do we have time to just lay around and watch a shitty movie?”

Carol laughed, “You’re right. We have to leave here by 6pm, don’t forget.”

“I won’t forget.” The brunette snuggled closer to Carol and let her eyes close.

\----

The pair arrived at CUT at 7pm sharp.

“Carol, this is way too nice. I honestly would’ve been fine with a burger and fries.”

The blonde smiled over her menu, “They have burgers here”

Therese gave her a challenging look. “You know what I meant.”

“I do, darling. And we’ve had this conversation 100 times. This trip is about me spoiling you.”

Therese rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, “It seems like our whole life is about you spoiling me.”

Carol heard every word but decided to ignore it. Therese would never get over the feeling of being a burden. She was treated like one her whole childhood and only relied on herself during her adulthood. It was something she chose to ‘agree to disagree’ on. She would always go above and beyond for Therese, even though she hated how it made the young girl feel.

“I think I’ll get a salad.”

“Therese. No. We are at one of the nicest restaurants I’ve ever been to. Please get something better than a salad. Get a steak or something you don’t normally eat.”

Therese rolled her eyes again and continued looking at the menu.

“I’m going to run to the restroom really quick. Order me a dry martini when the waiter gets here.” She stood up to leave the table but leaned down to whisper in Therese’s ear. “And if you roll your eyes at me one more time, I will have to punish you.”

That statement sent shivers down Therese’s spine. Her heart began to race and she felt a familiar wetness down south.

 

A few minutes later, Carol returned to the table with a smirk on her face.

“Don’t get cocky, babe. It’s not a good look.” The brunette said without looking up from her phone.

“How can I not be when I know you’ve been picturing it the entire time I was gone?”

Thankfully, the waiter came over to take their entrée orders, so Therese didn’t have to answer.

They ordered and began drinking their cocktails, all while having an impromptu staring contest.   

Therese broke the silence first. “So, I was thinking about something…”

“Yes?”

“What if we got a house together?”

Carol’s eyes got wide.

“I mean, a brownstone or something. I don’t want to leave the city. Don’t get me wrong, I love the apartment, I just would like something that’s ours. Together.”

Carol smiled wide. “I love that idea. Rindy will be going to college in a year so maybe we can start looking now and move when she does? Is that alright? I just don’t want to disrupt her routine anymore. I feel so bad that she has to travel between two houses already.”

Therese grabbed her hand, knowing she was going to keep rambling, trying to justify her reason for waiting. “Hey. Of course, we can wait. Rindy always comes first.” She squeezed the blonde’s hand.

Just then, their food came, and they began exchanging ideas about location, layout, and color scheme. Therese suggested getting an extra bedroom and turning it into a shared office space.

\----

After dinner, Carol saw that the rain had stopped so she called a cab to take them to the Santa Monica pier like she originally planned.

As they were walking along the boardwalk, Therese spotted the roller coaster ride Carol and Rindy went on last time.

“Babe, we have to ride that!”

“No, let’s walk down to the water.”

Therese pulled Carol’s hand “Noooooo, come on! They’re still open. Let’s go!”  

They were the only ones on the ride as it was getting late. They jumped in the first cart and they were off! The ride was short, but Therese loved watching Carol’s face when they would get to a big drop.

They continued walking down the pier and decided to take a ride on the Ferris wheel. Just as they got to the top, the ride stopped.

“Sorry guys! Give me a minute, I’ll get it fixed!” They heard the operator from down below.

Therese took out her phone and began snapping a few pictures from their seat.

Carol’s stomach was turning. She wanted the proposal to be by the water but didn’t see that happening. Just then, it started to sprinkle again. She looked down, and the worker was still messing with the machine.

‘It’s now or never’ she thought.

She pulled out the ring box and opened it, making sure the ring was in a perfect position.

“Therese.” She said, causing the brunette to turn around and almost drop her phone.

“Carol, what are you doing?”

“I’ve had this trip planned for about a month but somehow, you beat me to it. Darling, I’ve wanted to marry you since the beginning. I knew you were the one for me the moment I saw you. I fall in love with you more and more with every day. You’re amazing with Rindy and you make me happier than I’ve ever been. Ever. Will you do me the honor of becoming _my_ wife?”

Therese was frozen. She turned her head to look out at the ocean. Just then, the rain started to come down harder and she began crying.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Carol closed the ring box and grabbed the brunette’s face to turn toward her.

“This is like a damn movie.” She laughed through her tears. “How did I get here? How did I get so lucky? I have done nothing in this life to deserve someone like you. You planned all this for me?”

Carol began to cry too. “Well, there was a lot less rain involved but, yes. I wanted it to be special. Now, will you answer my question already??”

They both laughed.

“Yes, Carol. I would love nothing more than to be your wife.” They joined in a passionate kiss, not caring that they were still stuck on a Ferris wheel, getting soaked.

Carol pulled back and slipped the ring on Therese’s finger.

“Babe, this is too nic---” Therese stopped herself before finishing that sentence. She looked up and just smiled at her future wife. “I love you.”

Finally, the wheel began to move. They jumped off, thanked the operator of the ride, and jumped in a cab.

\----

When they arrived back to their room, Therese walked in first to find rose petals on the bed along with a bucket with champagne and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.

She turned around to see Carol smiling and leaning against the door. She ran over and pushed her fiancé against it and began assaulting her lips.

Carol moaned into the kiss and let her hands travel down to Therese’s ass, pulling her even closer. The brunette began kissing down her long neck, biting every few seconds. This only spurred Carol on. Her hips began grinding against the thigh that was in between her legs.

“Hmm, somebody is impatient.” Therese whispered in her ear.

“Baby, I’ve been wanting to fuck you since we landed.” She leaned her head to the side, allowing Therese more access. “Please.”

The younger woman smiled. It never fails to turn her on when she hears how much Carol wants her.

“I seem to remember somebody telling me I was going to get punished tonight.” She pulled back to see Carol’s pupils dilate.

“Do you want that?” Carol chocked out.

Instead of answering, Therese began taking off her clothes and walking toward the bed. Once she was stripped, she bent over the bed, pushing her ass up in the air.

Carol felt her heartbeat speed up. She stripped as well and stood behind the brunette. She let her hands run up and down Therese’s back and ass.

“Are you sure, baby?”

“Yes, Carol.”

Carol gave her three smacks, causing her skin to turn red. She rubbed the marks in an attempt to sooth the pain.

“Come on, you can do better than that.” Therese said, smirking up at Carol.

“Get on the bed. On your back.” Carol went to grab the handcuffs she brought, silently thanking the airport security for not asking about them. She also grabbed a scarf she packed just for this scenario.

She straddled Therese, no doubt spreading her own arousal along the younger woman’s stomach. She locked her hands in the cuffs and tied the scarf around her head, covering her eyes.

“Are you going to be a good girl for me and stay still?” She whispered in Therese’s ear.

She let out a barely audible “yes”

Carol grabbed an ice cube from the champagne bucket and stuck it in her mouth. She began dragging it along Therese’s skin, starting at her breasts.

Therese jumped when she felt the cool sensation.

“Be still, baby or else I’ll stop.”

Carol continued, dragging the ice cube down to Therese’s nipples, causing them to perk up quickly. The younger woman was breathing hard and trying to control herself.

Carol didn’t let up, she continued down Therese’s stomach then descended on her clit.

“Aghhhh!” Therese sat up quickly. “Fuck. Stop, stop. I can’t take it. It’s too cold.”

Carol laughed and chewed the ice cube so she could swallow it. She flipped Therese over and pulled her up so she was on her elbows and knees.

“Well, since you didn’t follow the rules, I have to move forward with that punishment after all.”

She smacked Therese’s ass 6 times. Hard. Each time, the brunette yelled. However, each yell quickly turned into a moan which turned into her getting even wetter than before.

She finally fell to her stomach, exhausted.

Carol laid on top of her and released her wrists from the handcuffs, rubbing them to soothe any pain. She also took the scarf off and began slowly kissing the back of her neck.

“Hey. Turn around.”

Therese slowly flipped over and stared into Carol’s eyes. Carol held the eye contact while she let her fingers find their way to Therese’s entrance. She gasped when she felt how wet her fiancé was. Making it entirely too easy to slide two fingers right in.

Therese bit her lip and moaned when she felt manicured nails hit her g-spot.

“As much as I love tying you up and teasing you, I love this even more.” Carol said as she leaned down to kiss her.

It was slow and full of passion. Therese had her hand in Carol’s hair and her eyes were closed. When they pulled away from the kiss, Carol continued to slowly pump in and out of the brunette.

She could tell she was close. “Baby, look at me.”

They held eye contact as Therese’s orgasm hit. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. The only noise she let out was a small whimper as she tumbled over the edge.

Carol continued moving her fingers around, brining Therese down from her high. She kissed her and settled on the bed. She pulled Therese to lay on her chest and covered them with the blanket.

“I love you.” Carol whispered as she kissed Therese one last time.

A few minutes went by before she heard “I love you too, future Mrs. Belivet.”

They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Therese's ring: https://www.shaneco.com/engagement-rings/infinity-engagement-rings/round-diamond-cathedral-infinity-engagement-ring-with-pave-setting/p/41074507#tng-close-modal


	25. Wedding Bells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year!! This is the last chapter of Snapped. I am so so happy all of you have been following along and reading. I'm also glad you all enjoyed it. I had so much fun writing this! But don't worry, I already have plans for the sequel (; I love these characters too much to stop. 
> 
> So please enjoy this mushy chapter (the entire fic was mushy, let's be honest).

“Where the fuck are my shoes?” Carol was running around the apartment, frantically, trying to make sure she wouldn’t be late. “Nerinda! Where did you put my shoes?”

Rindy and Jessica came running into the master bedroom with Carol’s white heels and terrified looks on their faces. Who knew Carol would be a bridezilla?

“Carol, you have to calm down. Why are you so stressed out? It’s not like you haven’t done this before.” Abby said, laughing. She was casually sitting on the bed, texting with Gen.

The blonde stopped and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Because, Abigail. This time I’m totally and madly in love with the person I’m marrying, and I want it to be the best day of her life. If I am late or make her worry in anyway, I would never forgive myself.”

Abby walked over and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Hey, hey. It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be better than fine.” She didn’t let go until she saw Carol release a breath and relax her face. “Now, let’s go get you married!”

\----

Across town, Therese was at the McElroy’s home. Nora and Louise were helping her get ready while Dannie was preparing his best man speech.

Phil was helping Tavin tie his tie and telling him all about his ring bearer responsibilities.

Therese was staring straight ahead, at her reflection.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Nora asked as she was buttoning the last few buttons on Therese’s dress.

“What? Oh, nothing. I just…I’m getting married.” Therese’s eyes began to well up.

“If you ruin your makeup before you even get to the venue I will hurt you.” Louise warned.

Therese patted her face dry, “Okay, okay. No tears yet. Thank you two for helping me.” She took one more look at herself in the full-length mirror. “Alright, let’s do this thing.”

\----

The venue was a small church on the outside of the city. It was white with just about 5 rows of pews on each side.

The guests were already seated and chatting. Harge and Susan were in the second row, behind Rindy and Jessica. Nora, Jack, Louise, and Phil were on the opposite side along with Rose and a few others from The Flower Garden.

Therese found a qualified photographer to shoot the wedding. Carol had to actually sit her down and explain why she couldn’t be in the wedding and shoot it at the same time.

Music began to play; Dannie and Abby began walking arm and arm up the aisle. Abby shot Gen a wink as she took her spot at the altar.

Next, came Tavin. He was so proud to walk up the aisle in his new suit, carrying a silk pillow with the two wedding bands tied to it. He was smiling widely at his dad and ended up running to the alter, causing the entire church to break out into laughter.

The doors closed once more, and the song changed to the wedding march. When they opened again, Carol was standing there in an all-white Armani suit with straight hair and the biggest smile on her face.

She slowly walked down to the music then took her place next to Abby, who squeezed her hand.

Then, finally, the moment she had been waiting for since she met Therese a year and a half ago.

The doors opened and there she was. Carol’s heart began to race, and she felt herself blush. Therese wore a very simple gown with layers of sheer white fabric. Her hair was in a low bun with a braid along the right side. She smiled widely at Carol, dimples showing.

When she made it to the altar, she handed Dannie her bouquet and immediately grabbed Carol’s hands.

“Hi” Therese whispered.

“Hi. You look incredible.”

Therese blushed and was about to respond when the preacher interrupted them.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony.” 

He continued to speak but neither woman registered what he was saying. They were too busy staring into each other’s eyes. Then finally broke their stares when they heard the word ‘vows’.

Carol spoke first.

“Therese. I can’t even begin to string together the right words to express how much I love you. The day I met you, I knew you were special. The second day, I found out just how special. The third day, I found out what a soulmate feels like. And every single day since then, I’ve fallen more and more in love with you. I can’t wait to be your wife and argue over how many pillows I put on the bed and who’s actually better at mini golf. You are the woman I’ve been waiting for my whole life and I can’t wait to grow old with you. I love you, angel.”

Therese was in tears. She was trying desperately to unfold her paper that had her vows written down, but her hands were shaking.

“Oh, fuck it.” She threw the paper down on the ground. Everyone laughed.

“I had a whole speech written out but quite honestly, nothing I could say will be enough. You are…like coming up for air. I spent my whole life feeling like I was drowning, and I would never find land. But then, one day, I met this gorgeous woman who literally made me pass out from her beauty.”

The entire church laughed again.

“But in all seriousness, you are…everything. I never believed love like this existed until you. You’re my partner, my best friend, my muse, and in a few minutes, you’ll be my wife.” She smiled and her tears began flowing more freely now. “Ugh I swore I wouldn’t cry!” She turned to the preacher, “Can we kiss now?”

Carol threw her head back in laughter and pulled Therese closer.

“I now pronounce you wife and wife! You may now kiss the bride!”

Therese grabbed Carol’s face and pushed their lips together while Carol wrapped her arms around the brunette’s waist. They were lost in their own world. Ignoring the cheering from the crowd. Only focused on kissing each other. When Therese began to tilt her head, Carol pulled away, aware of her new wife’s desires and the church full of people.

“Come with me.” She whispered in the younger woman’s ear.

They joined hands and walked down the aisle and out of the church.

In an effort to be alone before the reception started, Carol pulled Therese back to the dressing room and shot Abby a text to keep everyone away and that she would text when they were headed to the reception hall next door.

The blonde threw her phone down, locked the door, and pushed Therese against it.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” She said while peppering her wife with kisses.

Therese began trying to unbutton Carol’s shirt but was stopped by strong hands.

“No, baby.”

“Why?” Therese pouted.

“Because, we have to be social and take pictures and I don’t want to look a mess. Plus, do you really want our first time as a married couple to be standing up, against the wall of a church?”

“Carol, our first time ever was against a wall. Why should this time be any different?” She smirked at the older woman.

Carol rolled her eyes “Alright, I’m convinced. But lay your dress out on that couch so it doesn’t wrinkle.” She did the same with her suit.

She looked up and Therese was standing there in nothing but a white lace thong.

“God, you’re beautiful.” She pushed Therese back against the wall and began kissing her while palming her breasts. She tugged on her nipples slightly, eliciting a gasp from the brunette which was Carol’s queue to drop to her knees. She pushed Therese’s legs open and inhaled deeply.

“Fuck, you smell so good.”

“Carol, please.” Therese whimpered.

“Baby, you have got to stay quiet!” Therese nodded in response.

Carol licked Therese through her panties once then slowly drug them down her legs, tossing them aside. She dove forward and began licking and sucking and biting. She used her fingers to spread Therese wide open and sucked her clit into her mouth.

The younger woman let out a primal moan making Carol stand up and whisper, “I love nothing more than when you scream for me, baby. But now is not the time.” She looked Therese dead in the eyes. “If you make another sound, I will have to stop.” Therese swallowed hard. She knew if Carol stopped, she would not be able to hold out until the end of the night.

“Yes ma’am.” She said with a twinkle in her eye.

Carol’s eyes dilated at that statement. She cleared her throat before sinking down to the floor once more.

She was lapping up Therese’s essence that flowed freely from her cunt into her awaiting mouth. She felt it dripping down her chin, no doubt ruining her makeup.

The brunette let another moan slip and Carol stopped, standing up. It took Therese a second to realize what was happening and opened her eyes.

“Baby, what did I tell you?” She gave Therese a mischievous grin.

“I’m sorry but you’re really fucking good with your mouth.” They both laughed.

Carol placed one hand over Therese’s mouth while the other traveled south. Therese’s eyes went wide and she moaned yet again. Carol pushed two fingers inside and let the palm of her hand hit the younger woman’s clit with every thrust.

Therese was right. It didn’t take long before she was letting out a muffled scream and shaking between Carol and the door.

\----

“Everyone, please welcome Mrs. and Mrs. Belivet!” the DJ said over the speaker.

The couple made their way through the doors and on to the dance floor. Easy Living by Billie Holiday began to play and they slow danced together.

“Hey, you’re my wife.” Therese whispered, while giggling.

“You’re cute.” Carol smiled and kissed her hard.

“I have a surprise for you later.”

“Hmm and what might that be?” Carol mused.

“You’ll have to wait and see” She kissed the taller woman on the cheek and they continued to dance.

When the song came to an end, they made their way to their seats.

They spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing, and talking with their friends who are actually their family. They had never been happier.

Around midnight, they made their way to the car that had ‘Just Married’ written on the back window. Everyone sent them off with sparklers as they made their way to the apartment.

They decided to start their honeymoon a week after the wedding, to give them time to settle after the wedding.

\----

Carol unlocked the door and picked Therese up in her arms to carry her over the threshold and into their bedroom.

Therese slowly unbuttoned the older woman’s suit jacket along with her button-up shirt underneath. She then pushed her to sit on the bed and slipped her heels off, then her suit pants, leaving her in only a white bra and thong.

“Mmm, Carolyn Belivet, you look incredible.”

Carol laid back on the bed, “I like the sound of that.”

“Stay right here.”

Therese walked into the closet and shut the door. She quickly slipped her dress off and hung it up carefully. She found the bag she’d been hiding from Carol for the past month and put on the lingerie that was inside.

When she emerged from the closet, she saw Carol was still laying on the bed and couldn’t see her face. She got a little closer and saw that her wife was asleep.

_God, she’s adorable. I’m sure today wore her out._

She turned around, placed her lingerie back in the bag. She made her way back over to Carol, nudging her softly.

“Hey. Babe, come on, let’s get you under the covers.”

Carol’s eyes peeled open then went wide. “What? Oh my god, I fell asleep?”

Therese laughed. “Yes, Carol.” She kissed her lightly. “It’s okay. Today was incredibly long. Go to sleep.”

They both got comfortable and Therese pulled Carol to lay her head on her chest, kissing the blonde on the top of the head.

“I’m sorry, baby. I promise I will make it up to you tomorrow.” Carol said with a sleepy voice.

“We’ve got the rest of our lives.”

Carol smiled at the statement and kissed her wife goodnight.


End file.
